
Class ?N/05 1 



PRESENTED BY 



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Cdyvv-^^.v<v\ ^w I Xc 



GEORGE PUTTENHAM. 



€he Qxtz of (English $0£0k 

[June ?] 1589. 






CAREFULLY EDITED BY 

EDWARD ARBER, 

AJjTociate, King's College, London, F.R.G.S., &»c. 

1ZX H. 



k -O- \ * * 



(' 



LONDON : 
ALEX. MURRAY & SON, 30, QUEEN SQUARE, W.C 

Ent. Stat. Hall.} IO April, 1 869. [All Rights referved. 




- M^pi i 

PNi^i 

CONTENTS. P* 

Introduction 3 

Personal Recollections, &c, of the Author in the 

prefent work 10 

Evidence in favour of George Puttenham being the 

Author of this book 14 

Bibliography 16 

THE ARTE OF ENGLISH POESIE . 17 

1. The Printer's [Richard Field] dedication to Lord 

Burghley . . . . .... . . 18 

The First Booke. Of Poets and Poesie . . 19 

In thirty- one Chapters 

The Second Booke. Of Proportion Poetical . 78 
In eighteen Chapters 

The Third Booke. Of Ornament .... 149 
In twenty-five Chapters 

The Conclusion .313 

A Table of the Chapters in this book, and every thing 

in them contained . . . . . . 315 

to* 




■©"-Jr. ?a. ( \°\3\ 




The Arte of English Poesie. 

INTR OD UCTION. 

' muft ever be remembered that this 
Ladies' book was firfl publilhed anony- 
moufly ; that the printer was or feigned 
to be in ignorance of its Author; that 
fimilarly Sir John Harington, in 1591, 
only refers to him as ' that vnknowne Godfather, that 
this laft yeare faue on, viz. 1589, fet forth a booke 
called the Arte of Englifh Poefie,' and again as that 
' fame Ignoto ;' and laflly, that the authorfhip of the 
work was never openly claimed by any of Elizabeth's 
contemporaries. 

The treatife appears to have been written between 
June 1584, and November 1588 when it was firfl en- 
tered at Stationers' Hall. This is proved not only by 
the general tenour of contemporary allufion, as by the 
following particulars, among other. 

1. John Soowthern's 'Pandora. The Mufyque of the beautie of 
his miftreffe Diana, 1 has on its title page the date 20. June 1584. 
Mr. J. P^ Collier— in Bib/. Cat. ii. 367, ed. 1865— gives the refult 
of his examination — while it was. in the poffeffion of the late Mr. 
Heber — of the only perfect copy of this intrinficly worthlefs 
work. He quotes paiTages to fhow that Puttenham meant, 
though he does not name, Soowthern in his defcription, at p. 259, 
of ' our minion ' with his vice of Mingle-Mangle. That being 
the cafe; the prefent work was written after June 1584. 

2. There is at/. 206 of fome of the copies of the original edition, 
a remarkable fubftitution of one paffage for another, refpecling 
the Netherlanders. We have reprinted both paffages 2X. p. 254. 
This fubftitution tells this tale. The work was compofed at a 
time when the Xetherlanders were in bad odour; when indeci- 
fion marked the Queen's counfel, as to whether the long peace 
mould be broken and they mould be affifted in the war againft 
Spain. The firfl paffage is, therefore, ftrongly anti-Dutch. This 
would accord with the hiftory of 1585. 

But the work came to the prefs about March- April 1589. 
Meanwhile, the Armada had been defeated — the Dutch had 
proved themfelves worthy confederates, and had helped much 
in the victory. So a more friendly though fomewhat patronizing 
paffage is fubflituted for the former one — but not before fome 



4 Introduction. 

fheets had been printed. Thus, we obtain from this diverfity, 
evidence as to the original compofition in 1585, or later. 

3. In one of the cancelled pages, fee p. 116, is an account of 
the King of Spain's efcutcheon and its legend, Nonfufficit orais, 
in the Governor's palace at St. Domingo. This city was taken 
by Drake, on New Year's Day 1586 ; and his great Expedition 
returned to Portfmouth on the 20th July 1586. Subfequent to 
which date, we muft place our Author's knowledge of the fact. 

4. Sidney is called Sir Philip Sidney (he was knighted 8th 
Jan. 1583). The abfence of all allufion to his death (17 Oct. 
1586) or magnificent public funeral (16 Feb. 1587), accords with 
an anterior compofition of this work. 

5. The correction on publication in 1589, as to events and 
time, is fometimes perfect ; as in bringing up the Queen's rule to 
' this one and thirty yeares fpace of your glorious raigne ;' * fome- 
times imperfect as * We ourfelues haue heretofore giuen fome ex- 
ample by our Triumphals written in honour of her Maiefties long 
peace ;' + a paffage evidently written in the time of that peace. 

A minute and exhauflive analyfis of the work, tracing 
every contemporary allufion to its date, would probably 
but confirm this general refult — that it was written 
about 1585, and then as, with but few corrections and 
additions, it was printed in 1589. 

The occafion of the work appears in language, which, 
confidering that great Age, and the great Worthies 
and Poets then living, is fomewhat extraordinary. 

But in thefe dayes (although fome learned Princes may take 
delight in Poets) yet vniuerfally it is not fo. For as well Poets 
as Poefie are defpifed, and the name become, of honorable in- 
famous, fubiecl; to fcorne and derifion, and rather a reproch than 
a prayfe to any that vfeth it : for commonly who fo is ftudious 
in th'Arte or fhewes him felfe excellent in it, they call him in dis- 
dayne a phantafticall : and a light headed or phantafticall man 
(by conuerfion) they call a Poet. J 

Peraduenture in this iron and malitious age of ours, Princes are 
leffe delighted in it [the Arte of Poefie] being ouer earneftly bent 
and affected, to the affaires of Empire and ambition. ... So 
as, it is hard to find in thefe dayes of noblemen or gentlemen 
any good Mathematician, or excellent Mufttian, or notable Philo- 
fopher, or els a cunning Poet : becaufe we find few great Princes 
much delighted in the fame ftudies. Now alfo of fuch among 
the Nobilitie or gentrie as be very well feene in many laudable 
fciences, and efpecially in making or Poefie, it is fo come to paffe 
that they haue no courage to write and if they haue, yet are they 

* p. 60. t/. 61. %p. 33. 



l?itrodu£lio7i. 5 

loath to be a knowen of their skill. So as I know very many 
notable Gentlemen in the Court that haue written commendably 
and fuppreffed it agayne, or els fuffred it to be publifht with- 
out their names to it : as if it were a difcredit for a Gentleman, 
to feeme learned, and to fhew him felfe amorous of any good Art.* 

And in her Maiefties time that now is are fprong vp an other 
crew of Courtly makers Noble men and Gentlemen of her Ma- 
iefties owne feruauntes, who haue written excellently well as it 
would appeare if their doings could be found out and made pub- 
licke with the reft.i* 

Which chiding, flrangely coming from an anony- 
mous author, — containing as it does an important 
teftimony, both as to an anterior literary fecundity, and 
to the mafs of contemporary literature which never 
reached the printing-prefs — is always to be eftimated, in 
confidering the earlier Elizabethan literature of Eng- 
land. 

Such being the occafion, the Author tells us of the 
perfons he had in view in writing this, the largeil piece 
of Poetical Criticifm in Elizabeth's reign. 

Firft and above all : he writes for the Queen's own 
perfonal information and pleafure : whofe portrait, in 
all her glorious attire, adorns the original edition, and 
fpecimens of whofe poefie will be found at/. 256. 

You (Madame) my molt Honored and Gracious : if I mould 
feeme to offer you this my deuife for a difcipline and not a de- 
light. % 

So haue we remembred and fet forth to your Maieflie very 
briefly, all the commended formes of the auncient Poefie . . . 
And we haue purpofely omitted all nice or fcholaftical curiofities 
not meete for your Maiefties contemplation in this our vulgar 
arte.§ 

Alfo that I write to the pleafure of a Lady and a moft gratious 
Queene, and neither to Prieftes nor to Prophetes or Philofo- 
phers. || 

Next he wrote for the Court. 

I trull they will beare with me writing in the vulgar fpeach 
and feeking by my nouelties to fatisfie not the fchoole but the 
Court. H' 

Courtiers for whofe inftruclion this trauaile is taken. . . . The 
authors owne purpofe, which is to make of a rude rimer, a learned 
and a Courtly Poet.** 

* P- 37- t p. 75- + P- 21. § p. 72. II P- 3 I 4- 1 P- 172. ** p. 170- 



6 Introduction. 

Becaufe our chiefe purpofe herein is for the learning of Ladies 
and young Gentlewomen or idle Courtiers, defirous to become 
skilful in their owne mother tongue, and for their priuate recrea- 
tion to make now and then ditties of pleafure. . . .* 

Specially for your Ladies and pretie miftreffes in Court, for 
whofe learning I write. + 

Neuertheleffe becaufe we are to teache Ladies and Gentlemen 
to know their fchoole points and termes appertaining to the Art. % 

[Proportion in figure] alfo fit.teft for the pretie amourets in 
Court to entertaine their feruants and the time withall, their deli- 
cate wits requiring fome commendable exercife to keepe them 
from idleneffe.§ 

So as euery furplufage or prepofterous placing or vndue itera- 
tion or darke word, or doubtfull fpeach are not fo narrowly to be 
looked vpon in a large poeme, nor fpecially in the pretie Poefies 
and deuifes of Ladies, and gentlewoman makers, whom we would 
not haue too precife Poets leaft with their fhrewd wits, when they 
were maried they might become a little too phantafticall wiues.=|j 

Laftly, he tells us. 

Our intent is to make this Art vulgar for all Englifh mens vfe. *y 

Thus, Queen, Court, Educated if it might not be the 
Learned as well, are thofe for whofe inftruction and 
delight in The Arte of Engli/Ji Poefie this work was 
undertaken. 

What was then his purpofe and plan? He gives us 
his own summary of it ? 

Now (moft excellent Queene) hauing largely faid of Poets and 
Poefie, and about what matters they be employed : then of all 
the commended fourmes of Poemes, thirdly of metricall propor- 
tions, fuch as do appertaine to our vulgar arte : and laft of all 
fet forth the poeticall ornament confifting chiefly in the beautie and 
gallantneffe of his language and ftile, and fo haue apparelled him 
to our feeming, in all his gorgious habilliments, and pulling him 
firft from the carte to the fchoole, and from thence to the Court, 
and preferred him to your Maiefties feruice, in that place of great 
honour and magnificence to geue enterteinment to Princes, Ladies 
of honour, Gentlewomen and Gentlemen, and by his many 
moodes of skill, to ferae the many humors of men thither haunt- 
ing and reforting, fome by way of folace, fome of ferious aduife, 
and in matters afwell profitable as pleafant and honeft.** 

Hitherto we have dealt with the intention of the 
book, its execution is too large a fubject for confider- 
ation here. A few points may be fimply glanced at. 

v A 170. t p. 1S4. \ p. 180. § p. 104. || p. 256. 

1 p. 246. ** p. 304- 



Introduction. 7 

The work is not exclufively confined to E?igliOi 
Poefie. The Firft of the three bookes gives alfo the theory 
of the origin of the various forms of Poetrier The Second 
defcribes the ancient Claffic Poetry ; reports, and ap- 
parently introduces into our literature, the Tartarian 
and Perfian forrns of verfe, afterwards fo fafhionable ; 
and difcuffes the application of Greek and Latin meetri- 
cal ' numerofitie ' to Englifh poetry. The Third book 
explains the then theory of Punctuation ; has a long 
chapter on Language ; deals with the figures of Rhetoric 
as well as thofe of Poetry proper : and has fome forty 
pages on a feemingly foreign fubjecl, Decorum \ by 
which we are to underfland not only Courtly manners, 
but alfo apt and felicitous expreffion of thought, and ap- 
propriatenefs of drefs and conduct to our condition in life. 

That chapter Of Language, and the many criticifms on 
' words' fcattered through the book are moil interefting. 
Our Author was the Archbifhop Trench of his age. It 
is important in the hiftory of the growth of our Tongue, 
to fee him fixing Englifh, as ' the vfuall fpeach of the 
Court, and the fhires lying about London within fixty 
miles, and not much above;' defending the introduction 
by himfelf or others, into our language, of fuch words 
as Impreffton, Scientific, Major-domo, Politician, Co?iducl, 
Idiom, Significative •* to liften to his explanations of fuch 
words as Pelf, Moppe or of fuch proverbs as Totneffe is 
tur?ied Fi'ench, Skarborow warning, and the like. A man 
who could patiently tranfpofe a fingle fentence five 
hundred times in fearch of an Anagram on his Sove- 
reign's name; would eafily delight in the refined fubtilty 
of meanings which are enfhrined in words. 

A word of common occurrence in the book — vulgar, 
muft oftentimes be ftripped of its modern acceptation. 
Sometimes it is ufed as we ufe it now, for low, coi?imon : 
but often it refers to the then current theory of lan- 
guages. People fuppofed that from the three ancient 
and dead languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, all 
modern Continental languages were derived. They 

* The words quoted in his self-criticism will be found in the opening 
chapters of the first Book. 



8 Introduction* 

gave to thefe national living languages the common 
name of ' vulgar tongues.' So in many inftances herein, 
vulgar ftands for native or national : e. g. our vulgar art, 
may be read our national art, or fometimes fimply, our 
vulgar is equivalent to our native tongue. 

It would be great injuftice to overpays the clear ftyle 
of the book. Confidering the nature of the fubject, 
and that the Author was writing for Ladies : great fkill is 
mown in the breaking up of the book into many chap- 
ters : in his perfect affluence of example, illuftration, 
and anecdote to folace their ' minds with mirth after all 
thefe fcholaflical preceptes which can not but bring 
with them (fpecially to Courtiers) much tedioufneffe ;' 
and in the merry twinkling wit fo conftantly peeping 
out, as in his debating ' I cannot well fay whether a 
man vfe to kiffe before hee take his leaue, or take his 
leaue before he kiffe, or that it be all one bufmefs.' 

Another characleriftic is his difpaffionate judgement. 
His condemnation of his own productions is without a 
qualm ; and his praife of others' poetry is equally un- 
qualified : juft as either appear to him to neglect or 
conform to the principles of his Arte. 

There yet remains a great queftion. Who was the 
Author? 

A large number of tantalizing felf-allufions occur in 
the book. No lefs than twelve of the writer's previous 
works, not counting flighter pieces, are either referred 
to, defcribed, or quoted in it ; and fome of them in a 
way, only confident with their antecedent circulation in 
MS. Of all thefe works, there has come down to us, 
but a late and imperfect copy of one, — Parthe?iiades : 
and that copy, in accordance with the perfectly fuc- 
cefsful reticence, has not the author's name on it. 

We learn from The Arte of EngliJJi Poefie that it was 
written by an Englifhman, born about 1530; that he 
was one of children in the Nurfery, and he calls his 
nurfe, 'the old gentlewoman'; that in due time he 
became a Scholar at Oxford ; that in his younger days 



Introduction. 9 

he gave himfelf up to Poeiie ; that at eighteen he 
'made an Eglogue entitled Elpine to Edward VI;' 
that yet in his youth he was brought up in Foreign 
Courts and knew them better than he did the Englifh 
one ; that he could fay * I my felfe hailing feene the 
Courts of Fraunce, Spaine, Italie, and that of the Em- 
pire, with many inferiour Courts ;' that by early fludies, 
riper training, and foreign fociety he was at home in 
Greek and Latin ; well skilled in French, Italian, and 
Spanilh ; well read in hiftory, efpecially that of his own 
time 1 of great acquaintance with our national litera- 
ture ; and taking an efpecial delight in Englifh poefy. 

Further he was fome time on the Continent between 
1 560-1 5 70: and in 1579 prefented his Partheniades as 
a Xew Year's gift to Queen Elizabeth. 

Finally, approaching fixty years of age, he wrote the 
prefent work for his Souereign's delight and inftruction. 
Who is this high-born, high bred, highly cultivated, 
courtly Crichton? 

Can he be George Puttenham, of whofe exiftence 
there is no doubt, but whofe name is firft affociated in 
print with this work fo late as 16 14, in William Carew's 
paper On the exeelkncie of the EngliJJi tongue, in the 
fecond edition of Camden's Remaines. It is an aggra- 
vation, that gleaning as much as we do of our Author, 
we know fo little otherwife of Puttenham' s life : that 
we have no elements to combine with the above facts. 

Our purpofe is not to diipoffefs Puttenham of the 
authorfhip, as to contrail the abundant felf-allufhon in 
the work, with the weak external evidence in his fa- 
vour. It is to be hoped in the exhumation of old 
documents fo conftantly going on, all or at leaf! fome 
of our Authors works may be discovered : or if that 
be too great a hope, that evidence, deciiive and final, 
may turn up, as to whether among the good writers, 
either in profe or verfe, of our Country can be en- 
roiled the name of George Puttenham : whether it is 
to him that we are indebted for this original and clever 
book on Poetry, Rhetoric, and Good Manners. 



Personal Recollections, &c. 

of the 

AUTHOR 

in the present work. 



* Probable or approximate dates. 

The indications of time are so rarely given, that the order is often simply- 
haphazard : and the whole collection is but tentative. 

1509. &pr. 22. p?cnrrj EUHL success to tfjc tfjnm*. 

[^1529. With reference to the story at/. 277, Professor J. S. Brewer, 

a great authority as to this period, writes to me : "The Ambas- 
sador referred to can be no other than Dr. Lee, afterwards 
Archbp. of York, the celebrated opponent of Erasmus. He 
was ambassador in Spain from 1525 until the Emperor left for 
Italy at the commencement of 1530. During the year 1529, 
he was called upon to remonstrate with the Emperor for the 
part he took in supporting Catherine, and practising with the 
Pope to prevent the king's divorce. It was apparently on one 
of these occasions that the circumstances mentioned in the 
anecdote occurred. It is clear from various indications in 
Lee's letter, that he was not an exact Spanish or French scho- 
lar. In general the interviews between Charles and the Eng- 
lish ambassadors were carried on in French."] 
*i532. Probable date of birth. 

' My mother had an old woman in her nurserie, who in the 
winter nights would put vs forth many prety ridles. . . The 
good gentlewoman would tell vs that were children . . . .' 
PP- I 98, 199- 

' When I was a scholler at Oxford.' p. 219. 

1 It [Poesie] was but the studie of my yonger yeares in which 
vanitie raigned.' p. 314. 

' I haue set you down two little ditties which our selues in 
our younger yeares played vpon the [figure of the] Antistrophe. 
Vpon the mutable lone of a Lady. 
Vpon the meritoriotis loue of Christ our Sauiour.' 
pp. 208, 209. 

John Everaerts, also called Secundus Nicolaius [b. 
10 Nov. 1511, at the Hague ; d. 8 Oct. 1536, at Tournay] was 
one of the great poets of the Renaissance. His works, all of 
them in Latin, were not published till after his death. His 19 
poems, called ' Kisses,' Basia, were first published at Leyden 
in 1539. A collection of his works appeared at Utrecht in 
1541, and again at Paris in 1582 : in which among his book of 
poems, entituled Sylvce are the Epithalamium referred to at 
p. 68 ; and ' The Palace of Money,' Regia Pecuniar, the 
autographic copy of which is in Harl. MS. 4935, in the British 
Museum. Secundus wrote Elegies, Odes, Epigrams, &c. ; 
and among other ' A Monody on the death of Sir Thomas 
More. '] 



Personal Recollections of the Author. ii 

1547. San. 28. 3£otao FE romcs to tfje throne. 

*i55o. set. 18. ' Also in our Eglogue intituled Elplne, which we made being 
but eighteene yeares old, to King Edward the sixt a Prince 
of great hope.' p. 180. [This fixes the author's birth between 
1529-1535. Taking a mean date, he may be assumed to have 
been born within a year, either way, of 1532.] 

' Specially in the Courtiers of forraine countreyes, where in 
my youth I was brought vp, and very well obserued their 
maner of life and conuersation, for of mine owne country I 
haue not made so great experience.' p. 308. 

' I my selfe hauing seene the Courts of Fraunce, Spaine, 
Italie, and that of the Empire, with many inferior Courts.' 

• $' ^7\ . . 

' Being in Italy conuersant with a certain gentleman, who 

had long trauailed the Orientall parts of the world, and seene 

the Courts of the great Princes of China and Tartarie.' p. 104. 

His foreign travels are referred to zXpp. 216, 278, 279, 306. 

1553. 3ulg 6. iHarg sttroxos to the crobon. 

J 553- O ct - 5- Parliament meets. By the first Motion and Nomination of 

(Thursday.) Mr. Treasurer of the Queen's House, the Worshipful Mr. 
John Pollard, Esq. [who sat for Oxfordshire not Yorkshire. 
Willis's Notitia Pari. P. 11. iii. 29, Ed. 1750] excellent in the 
Laws of this Realm, was elected speaker. Commons Journals. 
i. 27. 

1553. Oct. 9. On Monday afternoon, Mr. Speaker made an excellent 

Oration before the Queen's Highness sitting in the Royal 
Seat in the Parliament Chamber; all the Nobles and Com- 
mons assembled. Idem. See p. 145. 

1558. £ob- 17. fElfcafcctfj fagms to rn'gn- 

1559-1567. Margaret, Duchess of Parma, Regent of the Netherlands 

[ ? ] Our author ' is a beholder of the feast ' given by the Regent 

at Brussels to Henry, Earl of Arundel, ' passing from England 
towards Italie by her Maiesties licence.' p. 278. 
1560-1574. Charles IX. King of France. 

[ ? ] 'In the time of Charles the ninth French king, I being at the 

Spaw waters, there lay a Marshall of Fraunce called Monsieur 
de Sipier [who apparently dies there], p. 285. 
[ ? ] 'Or else be locked into the Church by the Sexten as I my 

selfe was once serued reading an Epitaph in a certain cathe- 
drall Church of England.' p. 71. 
[ ? ] The Golden Knight and the Knight called Saint Sunday ; 

both living when our author wrote, p. 291. 
[ ? ] ' Quoth the Iudge [apparently dead at the time of writing] 

what neede of such eloquent termes [as violent persuasions} in 
this place V p. 153. 

[At pp. 169-178 of Cott. MS. Vespasian E. viii., written in 
' a small hand, is a copy of 17 poems, which were printed by 
Mr. Haslewood in his edition of the present work in 1811. 
The first is headed — 

The principall addresse in nature of a new years gifte, 
seemi?ige therebye the autJwr inte7ided not to have his name 
knowue. 

These poems are the Partheniades of our author. The 
somewhat modern copy is apparently imperfect : as the 15th 
in its order is quoted as the 20th, and the 16th as the 18th. 
The following are also quoted — the 2d, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 
12th. Three poems at least are therefore omitted, besides 



12 Personal Recollections of the Author. 

some transposition of the order in the copy. In the last 
poem are these lines, which fix the date at i Jan. 1579 : — 

' But O, nowe twentye yeare agon, 
Forsakinge Greece for Albion, 
Where thow alone doost rule and raygne, 
Empresse and Queene of great brittrayne.'] 

I 579- J an « x - O ur author presented these Partheniades to the Queen. 

1558-1579, Authorities differ as to Sir J. Throgmorton's tenure of the 

or office of the Justice of the County Palatine of Chester. G. 

1 559- 1 5^>4- Ormerod, Hist, of Chester,^ i. 59, 1819, states it to be from 

1558-1579. In Chetham Misc. ii. 30, 1856, it is stated to be 
only from 1559-1564. Probably the former is more correct. 
Our author wrote the Knight's Epitaph. See p. 189. 
[ ? ] 'I haue seene forraine Embassadours in the Queenes pres- 

ence, laugh so dissolutely at some rare pastime or sport that 
hath been made there. . . .' p. 297. 
[ ? ] Serjeant Bendlowes saying on the Queen's progress in 

Huntingdonshire.' p. 266. 

1579. Feb. 28. Sir Nicholas Bacon dies. See p. 152. 

1580. Feb. 25. Henry, Earl of Arundel, dies. See p. 278. 
1584. June 20. Date of John Soowthern's Pandora. See p. 3. 

The author's other works anterior to the composition of this one : — 
Prose. 

' And whereof it first proceeded and grew, . . . appeareth more at large 
in our bookes of Ierotekni.'' p. 45. 

' We our seines who compiled this treatise haue written for pleasure a litle 
brief Romance or historicall ditty in the English tong of the Isle of great 
Britaine in short and long meetres ' p. 57. 

' Of all which matters, we haue more largely spoken in our bookes of the 
originals and pedigree of the English tong.' p. 156. 

' Our booke which we haue written de Decoro. ' p. 283. 

Poetry. 

' Our Comedie entitu tied Ginecocratia.' Described,/. 146. 
' Our Enterlude entitutled Ltistie London.'' Quoted.//. 183, 208. 
' Our Enterlude called The tVo[o]er.' Quoted, pp. 212, 233. 
' In a worke of ours entitutled Philo Calia, where we entreat of the loues 
betwene prince Philo and Lady Calia. p. 256. Quoted at p. no. 

' Our Triumphals written in honour of her Maiesties long peace.' /. 61. 

The following entry appears in the Register of the Sta- 
tioners' Company : — 
T588. Nov. 9. ix. of No. Tho. Orwyn. Allowed unto him to prynte etc. 
The A rte of Englishe Poesie in Three Bookes, the first of 
Poets and Poesye, the second of Proportion, and the third 
of Omamente. vjd. 

[This important work appeared in 1859, " Printed by 
Richard Field, dwelling in the Black-Friars, neere Ludgate," 
where he was then carrying on the business, to which he had 
succeeded from marrying Vautrollier's daughter. The 
authorship of the volume is doubtful, no name appearing in any 
part of the more than 250 quarto pages, although the writer 
over and over again mentions and quotes his own poems, 
and treats of the compositions of nearly all the writers of the 
day. — J. P. Collier in ' Notes and 'Queries ,' 2d S., xii. 143.] 
A second entry occurs in the Stationers' Co.'s Registers : 
1589. Feb. 3. Rich. Feild. Thart of Engliih Poesie, beinge before 



Personal Recollections of the Author. 13 

entred for Tho. Orwin's copie, and is by his consent now- 
put over to Rich. Field. vjd. 
[See for the entry to Orwin, (above' : the imprint of the 
edition, 4to, 1589, is "At London, printed by Richard 
Field, dwelling in the Blaek-Friais, neere Ludgate ;" and 
Orwin does not appear to have had any interest in the work. 
Field, as already stated, was from Stratford-on-Avon, and 
was the typographer, employed by Shakespeare for his 
V ernes and Adonis, 1593, and Lucrece, 1594 ; and by Spen- 
ser for the edit, of The Faerie Q2tee?i, in 1596. J. P. Collier. 
Idem p. 243.] 

May 28. Date of the printer's dedication of the book to Lord 

Burghley, seep. 18. 

*June. The book published. 

1 Sir John Harington, in his Preface to Orlando Furioso, in English 
Heriocal verses. London, fol. 1591 : thus refers to our Author ; and contro- 
verts his opinion as to translators being no Poets. 

Neither do I suppose it to be greatly behoofull for this purpose, to trouble 
you with the ciirious definitions of a Poet and Poesie, and with the subtill 
distinctions of their sundrie kinds ; nor to dispute how high and supernatural 
the name of a maker is, so christened in English by that vnknowne Godfather, 
that this last yeare saue one, viz. 15S9. set forth a booke called the Arte of 
English Poetrie : and least of all do I purpose to bestow any long time to 
argue, whether Plato, Zenophofi, and Erasmus, writing fictions and Dia- 
logues in prose, may iustly be called Poets, or whether Lucan writing a story 
in verse be an historiographer, or whether Mayster Faire translating Virgil, 
Mayster Golding translating Ouids metamorphosis, and my selfe in this worke 
that you see, be any more then versifiers, as the same Iguoto termeth all 
translators : for as for all, or the most part of such questions, I will refer you 
to Sir Philip Sidneys Apologie [in MS. but not /' Harington 

thus quotes it. It was first published in 1595], who doth handle them right 
learnedly, or to the forenamed treatise where they are discoursed more 
largely, and where, as it were a whole receit of Poetrie is prescribed, with so 
manie new figures, as would put me in great hope in this age to come, would 
breed manie excellent Poets ; saue for one obseruation that I gather out of 
the verie same book. For though the poore gentleman laboreth greatly to 
proue, or rather to make Poetrie an art, and reciteth as you may see in the 
plural number, some pluralities of patterns, and parcels of his owne Poetrie, 
with diuers pieces of Partheniads and hymnes in praise of the most prais- 
worthy ; yet whatsoeuer he would proue by all these, sure in my poore opinion 
he doth proue nothing more plainly, then that which 3ET Sidney and all the 
learneder sort that haue written of it, do pronounce, namely that it is a gift 
and not an arc, I say he proueth it, because making himselfe and so manie 
others so cunning in the art, yet he sheweth himselfe so slender a gift in it : - 
deseruing to be commended as JMartiall praiseth one that he compares to 
Tully. 

Carmina quod so ibis et Apolline nullo 
Laudari debes, hoc Ciceronis habes. 

2 Mr. Haslewood [Ccns. Lit. ii. 40. Ed. 1809] was of opinion, that Francis 
Meres, M.A., derived from the present work and especially Bk. I. Chap. 
31 the greater portion of his Comparative discourse of our English Poets, 
with the Greeke, Latine and Italian Poets, at pp. 279-287 of his ' Palladis 
Tamia, Wits Treasury,' 1598: and that W. Vaughax, M.A., in The Golden 
'. 2d Ed. i5oS ; in Chap. 44. Book III. Of Poetry, and the excelle?icie 
thereof: and Henry Peacham, M.A., in The Compleat Gentlema7i, 1622; - 
in Chap. 10 Of Poe:rie, pp. 78-96; also borrowed unacknowledged informa- 
tion from the present work. 



Evidence in favour of 
GEORGE PUTTENHAM 

being the Author of this book. 

* i53 2 - Approximate date of birth of the Author. 

[* x 534 or *i535. Sir T. Elyot, in his dedication of The Education or 
bringinge vfi of children, printed in 1535 'to his only entirely 
beloued syster Margaret Puttenham,' writes, ' I therefore 
in tymes vacant from busynes and other more serious 
study, as it were for my solace and recreation, have trans- 
lated for you this lytell treatise entitled the Education of 
chyldren, and made by Plutarch the excellent philosopher 
and mayster of Traiane, moost vertuous and noble of all Em- 
perours. . . . And it shall only suffice me, if I by this littel 
labour I may cause you myn entirely beloued syster to folowe 
theintente of Plutarche, in bryngingeand inducynge my litell 
neuewes into the trayne and rule of vertue, whereby they 
shall fynallye attayne to honour (god so disposynge) to the in- 
estimable comforte of theyr naturall parents, and other 
theyr louynge friendes : and moste specially to the high 
pleasure of god, commoditye and profite of theyr countray. 
Thus hartily fare ye well, and kepe with you this token of 
my tender loue to you, which with the vertue and toward- 
nes of your children shall be continually augmented. From 
London the. xxvii. day of Novembre' [?i534 or 1535.] 

Can George and Richard Puttenham be these ' neuewes' 
of Sir T. Elyot, for whom he wrote this book : and the chil- 
dren of Sir Thomas' 'only' entirely beloued syster Margaret, 

married to Puttenham ?] 

The following entry occurs in the Register of the Sta- 
tioner's Company : 
1588, Nov. 9. ix. of No. Tho. Orwyn. Allowed unto him to prynte etc. 

The A rte of Englishe Poesie in Three Bookes, the frst oj 
Poets and Poesye, the second of Proportion, and the third 
ofOmamente. "vjd. 

[The most plausible claim [to the authorship] is that of George Puttenham, 
who had a brother one of the Queen's Yeomen of the Guard, named Richard 
Puttenham, who was buried at St. Clement Danes, on 2d July 1601. There is 
extant, under the date of 8 Feb. 1504-5, an order from the Lords of the Queen's 
Council in the following form, which we give because it has hitherto been 
passed over, and because it refers to a man of so much literary distinction : — 
" The Order of the Lords. —Whereas George Puttenham, gent., hath been 
a long sutor to her Ma tie and us to be recompensed to the value of one thou- 
sand pounds, as well in respect that he did incurre so much loss in obeying her 
Ma tes commaundement, as for other causes conteyned in a scedule and order 
wherunto wee have sett to our hands. Now, at his humble sute and request 
we (having: considered the equitie of the cause, and being desirouse to doe the 
said suppliant good aid and furtherance in his said sute in respect of his obedi- 
ence) have ordered (and so require) that Mr. Secretarie in our name (and for 
the causes above said) doe prefer to her Ma tie the humble sute of the said sup- 
pliant with this recommendation from us ; and that her Ma tie may be pleased 
to rest satisfied with our opinion in the equitie of the cause. 

'Tho. Brumley, cane, Robert Leycester, 
H. Hunsden, William Burley, C. Howard, 
James Croftes.' 
By a long explanatory paper annexed, it appears that the dispute was be- 
tween George Puttenham and his brother Richard. From the Book of Decrees 
of the Court of Requests, we learn that in 28 Eliz., Richard Puttenham was 
in most distressed circumstances, having been four years in prison, and having 
had to maintain ' a proud stubborn woman, his wife, in unbridled liberty : ' 
he was thus worth no more than ' the simple garment on his back. ' These 
particulars are as new as they are curious, and are derived from the original 
documents. —Mr. J. P. Collier, in Notes and Queries, 2nd S. xii. 143.] 



Evidence in favour of George Puttenham. 15 

[Mr. Haslewood in Ancient Critical Essays, i. i Ed. 180.9, gives the fol- 
lowing information : — "In the prerogative court of Canterbury there is a 
nuncupative will dated the first of September, 1590, of George Putenham, of 
London, Esquire, and piobably our author, whereby, " First and principallie 
he bequathed his soull vnto Almighte God, and his bodie to be buried in 
christian buriall. Item, hegaue and bequeathed vnto Marye Symes, wydowe, 
his servant, as well for the good service she did him as alsoe for the money 
which she had laid forth for him, all and singular, his goods, chattels, leases, 
plate, redie money, lynnen, wollen, brasse, peuter, stuff of houshold, bills, 
bonds, obligations, and all his goodes moueable or vnmoueable, of what kind 
nature qualitie or condicion, and in whose hands custodye or possession theye 
then were in, or remained, as well within his dwellinge howse as in anie other 
place or places within the realme of England. In the presence of Sebastian 
Archibould, scrivener : James Clerke, William Johnson, and diuers others." 
The probate act describes the defunct of Saint Bridgett's, in Fleet Street, 
London, Esq. There was also a Richard Puttenham, Esquire, whose will 
accords with the above as a scrivener's form, dated 16 Oct. 1597, he being 
" prisoner in her Majesty's Bench: " bequeaths all his property to his " verily 
reported and reputed daughter Katherine Puttenham." Considering the 
tenor of both Wills, the want of descendants of the name of Puttenham is no 
longer extraordinary."] 

[Harl. MS. 831 is a clearly written copy, apparently of the seventeenth 
century, entitled — 

An apologie, or true defens of her Maiesties honorable and good renowne 
against all such who haue sought or shall seek to blemish the same, with 
any iniustice, crueltie, or other unprincely behaviour in any partes of her 
Maiesties proceedings against the late Scotish Queene, Be it for her first 
surprince, imprisonment, process attayneder or death. 

By very firme reasons, authorities and examples, proveing that her Maiestie 
hath done nothing in the said action against the rules of honor or amies or 
otherwise, not warrantable by the law of God and of man. 

Written by George Puttenham to the seruice of her Maiestie and for large 
satisfaction of all such persons both princely and private, who by ignorance 
of the case, or partiallitie of mind shall happen to be irresolute and not well 
satisfyed in the said cause.] 

1. William Camden, in his Remaines of a Greater Worke, concerning 
Britaine, &=c, London, 1605, thus commences the section of Poems: — 

* Of the dignity of Poetry much hath beene said by the worthy Sir Phi- 
lipp Sidney, and by the gentleman which proued that Poets were the first 
Politicians, the first Philosophers, the first Historiographers.' Apparently 
Camden did not know who that gentleman was. 

2. Edmund Boltox left behind him a MS. entitled Hypercritica, a Rule 
of J2idgemcnt for writing or reading our history 's •, in four addresses : the 
last of which is entitled Prime Gardens for gathering English : according 
to the true gage or standard of the Tongue, about 15 or 16 years ago. This 
address — though not published till 1722 by A. Hall — was undoubtedly written 
in the reign of James I., probably about 1620, not 1610, as A. a Wood thought. 
The year 1605 should probably be associated with the following remark : — 

' Q. Elizabeth's verses, those which I have seen and read, some exstant in 
the elegant, witty and artificial Book of the Art 0/" English Poetry, (the Work 
as the Fame is' of one of her Gentlemen Pensioners, Putteuhajn, are Princely, 
as her prose.' — Sect iv.,p. 236, ed. 1722. 

This is the earliest trace at present of Puttenham's name being associated 
with The A rte of English Poesie. 

3. In 1614, the second edition of Camden's ' 'Remaines, Reviewed, corrected 
and increased,' appeared. It contained a paper of ten pages on The Excel- 
lencie of the English tongiie, by ii[ichard] C[arew] of [St.] AntJw?iy, Es- 
quire, to JF[illiam C[amden], 

Carew, at p. 42, sa} r s, ' And in a word, to close vp these proofs of our copi- 
ousnesse, looke into our Imitations of all sorts of verses affoorded by any 
other language, and you shall finde that Sir Philip Sydney, Master Putten- 
ham, Maister Staiuhurst and diuers more haue made vse how farre wee are 



1 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

within compasse of a fare imagined possibilitie in that behalfe' — an allusion 
to Puttenham more as a versifier than a poetical critic. 

This is all the evidence, by any contemporary of either Elizabeth or Tames. 

A. a Wood gives the following very short account of Puttenham : — A worthy 

gentleman, his [Dyer's] contemporary, called Puttenham, one of the 

gentlemen pensioners to qu. Elizabeth, who according to fame, was author of 
The Art of English Poesie, accounted in its time an elegant witty* and arti- 
ficial book, in which are some of the verses, made by qu. Elizabeth extant ; 
but whether this Puttenham was bred in Oxon I cannot yet tell. A th. Oxon. : 
742. Ed. 1813. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Stye $crte of eJttgii*!) Poegte. 

(a) Issues in frje gutter's lifetime. 
I. As a separate publication. 

1 1589. London. Editio princeps: see title on opposite page. This edition 

1 vol. 4to. has become very scarce. Messrs. Willis and Sotheran, in 

Bibliotheca Curiosa, 1867, offered a copy at ,£5, 5s. Mr. 
Joseph Lilly, in his Bibliotheca Anglo-Curiosa, is now offer- 
ing a copy at £4, 14s. 6d. He states that copies of this 
edition sold at Col. Stanley's sale for ^21, at Hibbert's for 
^13, 13s., and at the Roxburghe sale for £16, 5s. 6d. 

Three copies of the original edition have been used in 
preparing the present reprint — Ben Jonson's copy in the 
Grenville Collection, and another also in the British Museum, 
(Press-mark 1077. f.) : together with a third kindly lent me 
by J. P. Collier, Esq., F.S.A. 

This last copy formerly belonged to Dr. Farmer. Inside 
its cover, are noted the following prices paid for it, long ago: 
which strongly contrast with the more recent figures quoted 
above : — 

Sold at Mr. West's auction, No. 1815, for £1, 13s. 

Egerton, 1788, £2, 2s. While Mr. Collier bought it at 

Dr. Farmer's sale for £2, 14s. 

(fj) Issues since tfje &utf)or's tteaffj* 

I. As a separate publication. 
3 10 April 1869. 1 vol. 8vo. English Reprints : see title at_^. 1. 
London. 

II. With other works. 

2 1811-16. Lond. Ancient Critical Essays: Ed. by Joseph Haslewood. 

2 vols. 4to. Puttenham occupies the whole of the first volume published 

in 1 81 1. In addition to The Arte of English Poesie is re- 
printed the Partheniades. 

Mr. Lilly, in offering in his Bibliotheca Anglo-Curiosa, 
a copy of this edition at £2, 12s. 6d., states, 'Only 200 
copies were printed, which were published at £■$, 3s. each ; 
but the greater part of them were destroyed at the fire at 
Mr. Bensley's printing office.' 

It may be therefore fairly assumed that there are hardly more than three 
hundred copies of the present work in existence in any form, anterior to the 
present edition. 



THE ARTE 

OF ENGLISH 

P O E S I E. 

Contriued into three Bookes : The firft of 
Poets and Poefie, the fecond of Pro- 
portion, the third of Ornament. 










AT LONDON 

Printed by Richard Field, dwelling in the 
black-Friers, neere Ludgate. 

1 5 8 9- , . , 



Y^<^)^ 



TOTHE RIGHT HONO- 
RABLE SIR WILLIAM CECILL 

KNIGHT, LORD OF BVRGHLEY, LORD 

HIGH TREASVRER OF ENGL AND, R. F. 

Printer wifheth health and profperitie, with 

the commandement and vfe of his 

continuall feruice. 

His Booke (right Honorable) comming to my - 
handes, with his bare title without any Authours 




name or a??y other ordinarie addreff e. I doubted how 
well it might become me to make y 'ou aprefent thereof, 
feemingbymany expreffe paffages in the fame at large, 
that it was by the Authour intended to our Soueraigne 
Lady the Queene, and for her recreation and feruice chiefly deuifed* 
in which cafe to make any other p erf on her highnes partener in the 
honour of his guiftit could notfland with my dutie, nor be without 
fome preiudice to her Male Hies interest and his merrite. Pe?reyuing 
b'efdes the title to purport fo flender a fubiecl, as nothing almoft could 
be more difcrepant from the grauitie of your yeeres and Honorable 
funclion, zvhofe conte?nplations are euery houre more ferioufly etn- 
ployedvpon the publicize adminiflration and feruices : 1 thought it 
no condigne gratification, norfcaixe any good fatisfaclion for fuch 
a p erf on as you. Yet when I confidered, that bejlowyng zpon your 
Lordf]iip the firfl vezve of this mine ifnpreffion (a feat of 'mine ozone 
fimple facultie ) it could not f cypher her Alaiesties honour or prero-- 
gatiue in the guift, nor yet the Authoicr of his thanks : and feeing 
the thing it felfe to be a deuice of fome noueltie (which cominonly 
giueth euery good thing a fpeciall grace) and a noueltie fo highly 
tendirig to the moft worthy prayfes of her Maiesties mofl excellent . 
na7?ie (deerer to you I dare conceiue them any worldly thing be/Ides J - 
mee thought I could not deuife to haue prefented your Lord/Jiip any 
gift more agreeable to your appetite, or fitter for my vocation and - 
abilitie to beflow, your LordfJifp bey Jig learned and a loner of learn- 
ing, my prefent a Booke and my felfe a printer alwaies ready and 
defirous to be at your Honourable commaundement. And 
thus 1 hitmbly take my leaue from the Black- 
friers, this xxviij. of May. 1589. 

Your Honours moft humble 
at commaundement, 
R. F. 




THE FIRST BOOKE, 

Of Poets and Poefie. 



CHAP. i. 

What a Poet and Poefie is, and who may be worthily - - 
faydJhe moft excellent Poet of our time. 

Poet is as much to fay as a maker. 
And our Englifh name well con- 
formes with the Greeke word: for 
of rrcnh to make, they call a maker 
Poeia. Such as (by way of refem- 
blance and reuerently) we may fay 
of God: who without any trauell to 
his diuine imagination, made all the 
world of nought, nor alfo by any paterne or mould as the . 
Platonicks with their Idees do phantaftically fuppofe. 
Euen fo the. very Poet makes and contriues out of his 
owne braine, both the verfe and matter of his poeme, 
-and not by any fpreine copie or example, as doth the 
tranilator, who therefore may well be fayd a verfifier, 
but not a Poet. The premifes confidered, it giueth to 
. the name and profeffion no fmal dignitie and prehemi- 
-nence, aboue all other artificers, Scientificke or Me- 




20 OF POETS 

Achanicall. And neuertheleffe without any repugnancie - 
at all, a Poet may in fome fort be faid, a follower or 
imitator, becaufe he can expreffe the true and liuely of - 
eueiy thing is fet before him, and which he taketh in hand 
to defcribe : and fo in that refpect is both a maker and a 
counterfaitor : and Poefie an art not only of making, - - 

- but alfo of imitation. And this fcience in his perfec- 
tion, cannot grow, but by fome diuine inflinct, the 
Platonicks call \t furor: or by excellencie of nature and - - 
complexion : or by great fubtiltie of the fpirits and wit, 

or by much experience and obferuation of the world, 
and courfe of kinde, or peraduenture by all or moil ' 
part of them. Other wife how was it poffible that 
Homer being but a poore priuate man, and as fome fay, 
in his later age blind, mould fo exactly fet foorth and - 
defcribe, as if he had bene a mofl excellent Captaine 
or General!, the order and array of battels, the conduct - 
of whole armies, the fieges and affaults of cities and 
townes ? or as fome great Princes maiordome and per- - • 
feci: Surueyour in Court, the order, fumptuoufneffe and - 
magnificence of royal bankets, feafts, weddings, and 
enteruewes? or as a Politician very prudent, and much - 
inured with the priuat and publique affaires, fo grauely 
examine the lawes and ordinances Ciuill, or fo pro- . 
foundly difcourfe in matters of eftate, and formes of all 
politique regiment? Finally how could he fo naturally 
paint out the fpeeches, countenance and maners of 

- Princely perfons and priuate, to wit, the wrath of Achilles, 
, - the magnanimitie of 'Agamemnon, the prudence oiMene- 

laus, the proweffe of Heclor, the maieftie of king Pria- 
mus, the grauitie of Neflor, the pollicies and eloquence 
of Vlyjfes, the calamities of the diftreffed Queenes, and 
valiance of all the Captaines and aduenturous knights 
in thofe lamentable warres of Troy ? It is therefore of 
Poets thus to be concerned, that if they be able to de- 
uife and make all thefe things of them femes, without 
any fubiedl of veritie, that they be (by maner of fpeech) 
as creating gods. If they do it by inflincT: diuine or 
naturall, then finely much fauoured from aboue. If by 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 21 

their experience, then no doubt very wife men. If by 
-any prefident or paterne layd before them, then truly 
- the moft excellent imitators and counterfaitors of all 
others. But you (Madame) my moft Honored and 
« Gracious : if I mould feeme to offer you this my deuife 
for a difcipline and not a delight, I might well be re- 
puted, of all others the moft arrogant and iniurious : 

• your felfe being alreadie, of any that I know in our time, 
the moft excellent Poet. Forfooth by your Princely 

• purfe fauours and countenance, making in rnaner what 
ye lift, the poore man rich, the lewd well learned, the 

• coward couragious, and vile both noble and valiant. 
-Then for i mitatio n no leffe, your perfon as a moft cun- ■ 

ning counterfaitor liuely reprefenting Venus in counte- 

• nance, in life Diana, Pallas for gouernement, and Iuno 
■ in all honour and regall magnificence. 

CHAP. II 

That there may he an Art of our EnglifJi Poefie, afwell 
as there is of the Latine and Greeke. 

[Hen as there was no art in the world till by ex- 
perience.found out : fo if Poefie be now an 
Art, and of al anjricmitie hath bene among 
the Greeks and Latines, and yet were none, 
vntill by ftudious perfons fafhioned and re- 
duced into a method of rules and precepts, then no doubt 
may there be the like with vs. And if th'art of Poefie 
be but a skill appertaining to vtterance, why may not the 
fame be with vs afwel as with them, our language being 

- - no leffe copious pithie and fignificatiue then theirs, our 

conceipts the fame, and our wits no leffe apt to deuife 

- and imitate then theirs were? If agame Art be but a 

- certaine order of rules prefcribed by reafon, and gath- 

• ered by- experience, why fhould not Poefie be a vulgar 
■ -Art with vs afwel as with the Greeks and Latines, our 
---language admitting no fewer rules and nice diuerfities 

then theirs? but peraduenture moe by a peculiar, which 
our fpeech hath in many things differing from theirs: 

- and yet in the generall points of that Art, allowed to 




22 O F J P O E T S 

go in common with them : fo as if one point perchance 
which is their fe.ete whereupon their meafures ftand, 
• •■and in deede is all the beautie of their Poefie, and--- 
which feete we haue not, nor as yet neuer went about - 
to frame (the nature of our language and wordes not 
^permitting it) we haue in ftead thereof twentie other 
curious points in that skill more then they euer had, by 
^ - * ' <. reafon of our rime and tunable concords or fimphonie. 
which they neuer obferued. Poefie therefore may be 
an Art in our vulgar, and that verie methodicall and 
commendable. 

CHAP. III. 

How Poets were the firft pr lefts, the firft prophets, thefirji 
Legislators and polititians in the world. 

IHeprofeffion andvfe of Poefie is moft ancient - - 
from the beginning, and not as manie er- 
roniouflyfuppofe, after, but before any ciuil 
fociety was among men. For it is written, 
that Poefie was th'originall caufe and oc- 
cafion of their firft affemblies, when:before\the people 
remained in the woods and mountains, vagarant and dif- 
perfed like the wild beafts, lawleffe and naked, or verie - - 
ill clad, and of ail good and neceffarie prouifion for har- - 
bour or fuftenance vtterly vnfurnifhed: fo as they litle 
diffred for their maner of life, from the very brute beafts- - 
of the field. Whereupon it is fayned that Amphion and - - 
07pheus, two Poets of the firft ages, one of them, to wit - 
Amphion, builded vp cities, and reared walles with the - 
ftones that came in heapes to the found of his harpe, 
figuring thereby the mollifying of hard and ftonie hearts - j 
by his fweete and eloquent perfwafion. And .Orpheus . 
affembled the wilde beafts to come in heards to har- 
ken to his muficke,and by that meanes made them tame, 
implying thereby, how by his difcreete and wholfome le- 
fons vttered in harmonie and with melodious inftru- 
ments, he brought the rude and fauage people to a more 
ciuill and orderly life, nothing, as it feemeth, more pre- , 
trailing or fit to redreffe and edifie the cruell and flurdie 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 23 

courage of man then it. And as thefe two Poets and 
Linus before them, and Mufens alfo and Hefiodus in 

- - Greece and Archadia : fo by all likelihood had mo 
, Poets done in other places, and in other ages before 

them, though there be no remembrance left of them, 

by reafon of the Recordes by fome accident of time per- 

-ifhed and failing. Poets therfore are of great antiqui- 

> - tie. Then forafmuch as they were the firfl that enten- 

ded to the obferuation of nature and her works, and 

- - fpecially of the Celeftiall courfes, by reafon of the con- 

- tinuall motion of the heauens, fearching after the firfl 
-mouer, and from thence by degrees comming to. know 

and confider of the fubilances feparate and abftract, 
- which we call the diuine intelligences or good Angels 

- - (Demo??es) they were the firft that inftituted facrifices of 

- placation, with inuocations and worfhip to them, as to 
. Gods : and inuented and flabliihed all the reft of the 

- obferuances and ceremonies of religion, and fo were 

- the firft Priefts and minifters of the holy mifteries. And 
becaufe for the better execution of that high charge and 
function, it behoued them to liue chaft, and in all holi 

. • nes of life, and in cqntinuall ftudie and contemplation : 
i ' they came by inftin6i diuine, and by deepe meditation, 

- and much abftinence (the fame affub tiling and refining 
-their fpirits) to be made apt to receaue vifioiis, both 

. waking and ileeping, which made them vtter prophe- 
fies, and foretell things to come. So alfo were they the 

- - firft Prophetes or feears, Videntes, for fo the Scripture 

tearmeth them in Latine after the Hebrue word, and 
all the oracles and anfwers of the gods were giuen in 
meeter or verfe, and publifhed to the people by their 
direction. And for that they were aged and graue men, 

- - and of much wifedome and experience in th'affaires of 

the world, they were the firft lawmakers to the people, ; 

- and the firft polititiens, deuifing all expedient meanes 
. for th'eftablifhment of Common wealth, to hold and 

. - contain e the people in order and duety by force and 

- * venue of good and wholefome lawes, made for the pre- 
r -feruation of the publique peace and tranquillitie. The 



_ 




24 OFPOETS 

fame peraduenture not purpofely intended, but greatly 
furthered by the aw of their gods, and fuch fcruple of 
confcience, as the terrors of their late inuented religion - 
had led them into. 

CHAP. IIIL 

How Poets were the firjl Philofofihers, the ft7jl AJlrono- 

mers and Hifigriographers and Oratours and 

Mufitiens of the world. 

Pterance alfo and language is giuen by nature 
to man for perfwafion of others, and aide of - 
them femes, I meane the firft abilite to ■ 
fpeake. For fpeech it felfe is artificiall and - 
made by man, and the more pleafmg it is, 
the more it preuaileth to fuch purpofe as it is intended 
~ for: but fpeech by meeter is a kind of vtterance, more - 
cleanly couched and more delicate to the eare than profe 
is,becaufe it is more currant and flipper vpon the tongue, - 
and withal tunable and melodious, as a kind of Muficke, _ 
and therfore may be tearmed a muficall fpeech or vtter- - 
ance, which cannot but pleafe the hearer very well. An- 
other caufe is, for that^is briefer and more compendious, 
and eafier to beare .away and be retained in.memorie, 
then that which is contained in multitude of words and - 
full of tedious ambage and long periods. It is befide a 
maner of vtterance more eloquent and rethoricall then 
the ordinarie profe, which we vfe in our daily talke : be- 
caufe it is decked and fet out with all maner of frefh 
colours and figures, which maketh that it fooner inueg- 
leth the iudgement of man, and carieth his opinion this 
way and that, whither foeuer the heart by impreffion of 
the eare fhalbe moil affeclionatly bent and direcled. 
-The vtterance in profe is not of fo great efncacie, be- 
caufe not only it is dayly vfed, and by that occafion the 
eare is ouerglutted with it, but,is alfo not fo voluble and 
flipper vpon the tong, being wide and lofe, and nothing 
numerous, nor contriued into meafures, and founded 
with fo gallant and harmonical accents, nor in fine al- 
owed that figuratiue conueyance, nor fo great licence in 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 25 

- choife of words and phrafes as meeter is. So as the Poets . 
■ were alfo from the beginning the bell perfwaders and 

. their eloquence the firft Rethoricke of the world. Euen 
fo it became that thehigh myfteries of the gods Ihould ■ 
be reuealed and taught, by a maner of vtterance and 
language of extraordinarie phrafe, and briefe and com- 
pendious, and aboue ai others fweet and ciuill as the 
Metricall is. The fame alfo was meeteft to regiller the - 

. Hues and noble gefts of Princes, and of the great Mon- 

- arkes of the world, and all other the memorable acci- 
dents of time : fo as the Poet was alfo the nrfl hiflorio- 
grapher. Then forafmuch as they were the nrfl obfer- 
uers of all naturall caufes and effects in the things gen- 
erable and corruptible, and from thence mounted vp to 

-fearch after the celeiliall courfes and influences, and yet 
penetrated further to know the diuine effences and fub- 
ilances feparate, as is fayd before, they were the nrfl - 

-Aflronomers and Philofophifls and Metaphificks. Fin- 

- ally, becaufe they did altogether endeuor them felues to 
reduce the life of man to a certaine method of good 
maners, and made the nrfl differences betweene vertue 

- and vice, and then tempered all thefe knowledges and 
skilles with the exercife of a delectable Muficke by me- 
lodious inflruments, which withall ferued them to delight 
their hearers, and to call the people together by admir- 

- ation, to a plaufibie and vertuous conuerfation, therefore 
were they the nrfl Philofophers Ethick, and the nrfl 
artificial Muficiens of the world. Such was Limts, Or- 
pheus, Amphion and Mvfeus the mofl ancient Poets and 

. Philofophers, of whom there is left any memprie by the 
prophane writers. King Dauid alfo and Salomon his 
fonne and many other of the holy Prophets wrate in 
meeters, and vfed to fing them to the harpe, although 

-to many of vs ignorant of the Hebrue language and 

- phrafe, and not obferuing it, the fame feeme but a profe. 

- It can not bee therefore that anie fcorne or indignitie 
. Ihould iuflly be offired to fo noble, profitable, ancient 

and diuine a fcience as Poefie is. 




26 OFPOETS 

CHAP. V. 

How the wilde and fauage people vfed a natar all Poefie in 
verficle and rime as our vulgar is. 

|Nd the Greeke and Latine Poefie was by verfe 
numerous and metricall, running vpon pleaf- 
ant feete, fometimes fwift, fometime flow 
(their words very aptly feruing that purpofe) 
but without any rime or tunable concord in - 
th'end of their verfes, as we and all other nations now 
vfe. But the Hebrues and Chaldees who were more an- 
cient then the Greekes, did not only vfe ametricall Poefie, 
but alfo with the fame a maner of rime, as hath bene of . 
late obferued by learned men. Wherby it appeareth, that 
our vulgar running Poefie was common to all the nations 
of the world befides, whom the Latines and Greekes in 
fpeciall called barbarous. So as it was notwithstanding 
the nrft and moft ancient Poefie, and .the molt vniuer- 
fall, which two points do otherwife giue to all humane 
inuentions and affaires no fmall credit. This is proued 
by certificate of marchants and trauellers, who by late 
nauigations haue furueyed the whole world, and dif- 
couered large countries and ftrange peoples wild and 
faaage, affirming that the American, the Perufme and 
the very Canniball, do iing and alfo fay, their higheft - 
and holieft matters in certaine riming verficles and not 
in profe, which proues alfo that our maner of vulgar 
Poefie is more ancient then the artinciall of the Greeks 
and Latines, ours comming by inftinct of nature, which 
was before Art or obferuation, and vfed with the fauage 
and vnciuill, who were before all fcience or ciuilitie, 
euen as the naked by prioritie of time is before the 
clothed, and the ignorant before the learned. The 
naturall Poefie therefore being aided and amended by 
Art, and not vtterly altered or obfcured, but fome figne 
left of it, (as the Greekes and Latines haue left none) 
is no leffe to be allowed and commended then theirs. 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 27 

CHAP. VI. 

How the riming Poefie camefirfl to the Grecians and * 
Latines, and had altered and ahnofl jjnlt 
their matter of Poefie. 

?Vt it_ came to paffe, when fortune fled farre 
from the G reeke s and Latines, and that their 
townes floriihed no more in traficke, nor 
their Vniuerfities in learning as they had 
done continuing thofe Monarchies : the 
barbarous conquerers inuading them with innumerable 
fwarmes of ftrange nations, the Poefie metrical! of the 

- Grecians and L a tin es came to be much corrupted and 
. altered, in fo much as there were times that t he ver y 

- Greekes and Latines themfelues tgoke pleafure in Riming 

- verfes, and vfed it as a rare and gallant thing : Yea their 
-Oratours profes nor the Doctors Sermons were accept- 

- able to Princes nor yet to the common people vnleffe 
it went in manner of tunable rime or m etrical} fentences, 

-as appeares by many of the auncient writers, about that 
time and fmce. And the great Princes, and Popes, and 

■ Sultans would one falute and greet an other fometime 
in frendfhip and fport, fometime in earneft and enmitie 

- by ryming verfes, and nothing feemed clerkly done, 

- but muft be done in ryme : Whereof we fin.de diuers 
examples from the time of th'Emperours Gracian and 
Valentinian downwardes : For then aboutes began the 

• declination of the Romain Empire, by the notable in- 
undations of the Hunnes and Vandalles in Europe, . 
vnder the conduicl of Totila and Atila and other their - 
generalles. This brought the ryming Poefie in grace, 
and made it preuaile in Italie and Greece (their owne 
long time cafl afide, and almofl neglected) till after 

^many yea.res that the peace of Italie and of th' Empire 
Occidentall reuiued new clerkes, who recouering and 
perufmg the bookes and fludies of the ciuiler ages, re- 
flored all maner of arts, and that of the Greeke and 
Latine Poefie withall into their former puritie and netnes. 

-Which neuertheleffe did not fo preuaile, but that the 




28 OF POETS 

ryming Poefie of the Barbarians remained (lill in his re- 
putation/ that one in the fchole, this other in Courts of 
Princes more ordinary and allowable. 

CHAP. VII. 

p » How in the time of Charlemaine and many yeares after 
him the latine Poetes wrote in ryme. 

jjNd this appeareth euidently by the workes of 
many learned men, who wrote about the 
time of Charlemaines raigne in the Empire - 
Occidental^ where the Chriftian Religion, 
became through the exceffme authoritie of . 
Popes, and deepe deuotion of Princes flrongly fortified - 
and eilablifhed by erection of orders Monasticai, in which . 
many fimple clerks for deuotion fake and fanctitie were - 
receiued more then for any learning, by which occafion - 
and the folitarineffe of their life, waxing ftudious with- - 
out difcipline or inftruction by any good methode, fome - 
of them grew to be hiftoriographers, fome Poets, and . 
following either the barbarous rudenes of the time, or 
els their own idle inuentions, all that they wrote to the - 
fauor or prayfe of Princes, they did it in fuch maner of 
minftreme, and thought themfelues no fmall fooles, . 
when they could make their verfes goe all in ryme as 
did the fchoole of Salerne, dedicating their bpoke of 
medicinail rules vnto our king of England, with this 
"beginning. 

Amrforum Rege fcripftt tot a fchola Salerni 
Si vis incohtmem, ft vis te redder e fa nam 
Cur as to lie graues, irafci crede prophannm 
Nee retine ventrem nee finngas for titer annum. 
And all the reft that follow throughout the whole booke 
more curioufly then clean ely, neuertheleffe very well to 
the purpofe of their arte. In the tame time king Ed- 
ward the iij . him felfe quartering the Armes of England 
and France, did difcouer his pretence and clayme to 
the Crowne of Fraunce, in thefe ryming verfes. 
Rex fum regnorum bina ratione duorum 
Anglorum regno fum rex ego iure pate?mo 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 29 

Matris iure quidem Francorum nuncafior idem 
Hinc eft armor 'urn variatio facia meorum. 

- Which verfes Phillip de Valois then poffeffmg the Crowne - 

- as next hejre male by pretexte of the law Salique, and * 

- holding out Edward the third, a_unfwered in thefe other 

- of as good ftufife. 

Prcedo regnorum qui diceris effe dnoriim 
Regno materno priuaberis at que pater no 
Prolis ins nullu77i vbi matris nonfuit vllum 
Hinc efl armorum variatio filulta tuontm. 
It is found written of Pope Lucius, for his great auarice - 

- and tyranny vfed ouer the Clergy thus in ryming verfes. 

Lucius efl pifcis rex et tyr annus aquarum 
A quo difcordat Lucius ifle parum 
Deuorat hie homines, his pifcibus infidiatur 
Efurit hie femper hie aliquando fatur 
Amborum vita?nfi laus cequata notaret 
Plus rationis habet qui ratione caret. 

- And as this was vfed in the greatefl and gayeft matters 

- of Princes and Popes by the idle inuentionof Monaflicall 
^ menthenraigningalintheirfuperlatiue. Sodideueryfcho- 

- ler andfecular clerEe or verfrner, when he wrote any fhort 
. poeme or matter of good leffon put it in ryrne, whereby 

it came to paffe that all your old Prouerbes and com- 
mon fayinges, which they would haue plaufible to the 
-reader and eafie to remember and beare away, were of 

- that forte as tKefe. 

L11 mundo mira faciunt duo nummus et ira 
Mollificant dura peruerhmt o??i?iia iura. 
~ And this verfe in difprayfe of the Courtiers life follow- 
ing the Court of Rome. 

Vita palatina dura efl animceque ruina. 
And thefe written by a noble learned man. 
Lre redire fequi regu?n fublimia caflra 
Eximius fatus efl, fed 71071 fie itur ad a sir a. 

- And this other which to the great iniurie of all women 

- was written (no doubt by fome forlorne louer, or els 
-. fome old malicious Monke) for one womans fake ble- 
-mifhing the whole iexe. 



30 0FP0ETS 

Fallereflere nere mentiri nilque tacere 
Hcec quinque vere Jlatuit Dens in muliere. 
If I might' haue bene his Iudge, I would haue had 
him for his labour, ferued as Orpheus was by the 
women of Thrace. His eyes to be picket out with 
pinnes, for his fo deadly belying of them, or worfe 
handled if worfe could be deuifed. But will ye fee 
how God raifed a reuenger for the filly innocent women, 
for about the fame ryming age came an honeft ciuill 
Courtier fomewhat bookifh, and wrate thefe verfes ■ 
againfl the whole rable of Monkes. 

Monachi vejlri Jiomachi funt amphora Bacchi 
Vos eft is Dens eft teftis turpijjima peftis. 
Anon after came your fecular Prieftes as iolly rymers 
as the reft, who being fore agreeued with their Pope 
Ca/ixtus, for that he had enioyned them from their - 
wiues, and railed as fail againfl him. 

O bo7ie Calixte tot us mundus perodit te 
Quondam Presbiteri, poterant vxoribns vti 
Hoc deftruxifti, poftquam tu Papa fuijli. 
Thus what in writing of rymes and regiftring of lyes 
was the Clergy of that fabulous age wholly occupied. 

We finde fome but very few of thefe ryming verfes 
among the Latines of the emitter ages, and thofe rather • 
hapning by chaunce then of any purpofe in the writer, * 
as this Diftick among the difportes of Ouid. 
Qnot cozlum ftellas tot habet tua Roma puellas 
Pafcua quotque hcedos tot habet tua Roma Cyncedos, 
The pofteritie taking pleafure in this manner of 
Simphonie had leafure as it feemes to deuife many 
other knackes in their verfifying that the auncient and , 
ciuill Poets had not vfed before, whereof one was to 
make euery word of a verfe to begin with the fame 
letter, as did Hugobald the Monke who made a large * 
poeme to the honour of Carolus Caluus, euery word - 
beginning with C. which was the firft letter of the king 
name thus. 

Carmina clarifonce Caluis cant ate camence. 
And this was thought no fmall peece of cunning, 
being in deed a matter of fome difficultie to finde cut 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 31 

fo many wordes beginning with one letter as might 
make a iufl volume, though in truth it were but _a 
phantaflicall deuife and to no purppfe at all more t hen 
to make them harmonicall to the rude eares of thofe 
barbarous ages. 

Another of their_^retie indentions was to make a 
verfe of fuch wordes as by their nature and manner 
of contraction and fituation might be turned back- 
ward word by word, and make another perfit verfe, but 
of quite contrary fence as t he gi bing _ Mpnke that wrote 
of Pope Alexander thefe two verfes. 

La us tua 11011 tuafraus, virtus 11011 copia rerum, 
Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium. 

Which if ye will turne backwards they make two other 
good verfes, but of a contrary fence, thus. 

Eximium decus hoc faciunt te fcandere, rerum 
Copia, 11011 virtus, fraus tua 11011 tua laus. 

And they called it Veife_Lyqn. 

Thus you may fee the humors and appetites of men 
how diuers and chaungeable they be in liking new 
fafhions, though many tymes worfe then the old, and 
not onely in the manner of their life and vfe of their gar- 
ments, but alfo in their learninges and arts and fpecially 
of their languages. 

CHAP. VIII. 

In what reputation Poefie and Poets were in old time with 

Princes and other wife generally, and how they be 

now become contemptible and for what caufes. 

'Or the rel^ecles a forefayd in all former ages 
and in the moil ciuillcountreys and commons 
wealthes, good Poets and Poefie were highly 
. efleemed and much fauoured of the greater! 
Princes. For proofe whereof^we read how 
much Amy nt as king of Macedonia made of the Tragicall 
Poet Euripides. And the Athenians of Sophocles. In what 
price the noble poemes of Homer were holden with 
Alexander the great, in fo much as euery night they 
were layd vnder his pillow, and by day were carried in 




32 OF POETS 

the rich iewell cofer of Darius lately before vanquifhed 
by him in battail^. And not onely Homer the father 
and Prince of the Poets was fo honored by him, but 
for his fake all other meaner Poets, in fo much as 

- Cherillus one no very great good Poet had for euery 
verfe well made a Phillips noble of gold, amounting in 
value to an angell Englifh, and fo for euery hundreth 
verfes (which a cleanely pen could fpeedely difpatch) 
he had a hundred angels. And fmce Alexander the 
great how Theocritus the Greeke poet was fauored by 

- Tholomee king of Egipt and Queene Berenice his wife, 
Ennius likewife by Scipio Prince of the Rojnaines, Vir- 

^ gill alfo by th'Emperour Augujlus. And in later times 
v- how much were Iehan de Mehune and Guillaume de 
v Loris made of by the French kinges, and Geffrey 

- Chaucer father of our Englifh Poets by Richard the 
fecond, who as it was fuppofed gaue him the^maner of 
new Holme in Oxfordshire. And Govver to Henry the 

* - fourth, and Harding to Edward the fourth. Alio how 

- Francis the Frenche king made Sangelais, Salmonius, 
. Macrinus, and Clement Marot of his priuy Chamber for 

their excellent fkill in vulgare and Latine Poefie. And 
~ king Henry the 8. her Maiejlies father for a few Pfalmes 

- of Dauid turned into Englifh meetre by Sternhold, 
made him groome of his priuy chamber, and gaue him 

-many other good gifts. And one Gray what good 
eflimation did he grow vnto with the fame king Henry, 

, and afterward with the Duke of Sommerfet Proteclour, 
for making certain e merry Ballades, whereof one chiefly 
was The hunte it [is?] vp, the hunte is vp. And Queene 
Mary his daughter for one Epithalamie or nuptiall 

r fong made by Vargas a Spanifh Poet at her manage 
with king Phillip in Winchefter gaue him during his 
life two hundred Crownes penfion : nor this reputation 
was giuen them in auncient times altogether in refpecl 
that Poefie was a delicate arte, and the Poets them 
felues cunning Princepleafers, but for that alfo they 
were thought for their vniuerfall knowledge to be very 
fufricient men for the greater! charges in their common 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 33 

wealth es, were it for counfell or for conduct, whereby 
n6 man neecle to doubt but that both fkilles may very 
well concurre and be moil excellent in one perfon. 
For we fmde that Iidius Ccefar the firfl Emperour - 
and a mod noble Carjtaine, was not onely the mod 
eloquent Orator of his time, but alfo a very good Poet, 
though none of his_doings therein be now extant. And 
Quintus Cat 11 1 us a good Poet, and Cornelius Gallus - - 
treafurer of Egigt, and Horace the moll delicate of all . 
the RomahiLyrickes, was thought meete and by many 
letters~~of great inflance p rouoked to be Secretarie of 
eftate to Augujius th'Emperour, which neuertheleffe 
he refufed for his vnhealthiulnene fake, and being a 
quiet mynded man and nothing ambitious of glory : non 
voluit accedere ad Rempublicam, as it is reported. And 
Ennius the Latine Poet was not as fome perchaunce - 
thinke, onely fauored by Scipio the Africans for his good » 
making of verfes, but vfed as his familiar and Counfel- 
lor in the warres for his great knowledge and amiable 
conuerfation. And long before \haX\Antimenides and «■ 
other Greek e Poets, as Arijlotle report es in his Poli- 
ticmes, had charge in the warres. " And Firtceus the - 
Poet being alfo a lame man and halting vpon one 
legge, was chofen by the Oracle of the gods from the 
Athenians to be generall of the Lacedemonians armie, 
not for his Poetrie, but for his wiiedome and graueper- 
fwafions, and fubtile Stratagemes whereby he had the 
victory ouer his enemies. So as the Poets feemed to 
haue fkill not onely in the fubtilties of their arte, but 
alfo to be meete for all maner of functions quill and 
martiall, euen as they found fauour of the times they 
liuecTIh, infomuch as their credit and eflimation gene- 
rally was not fmall. But in thefe dayes (although fome 
learned Princes may take delight in them) yet vniuer- 
fally it is not fo. For as well Poets as Poefie are de- 
fpifed, and the name become, of honorable infamous, - 
fubiedl to fcorne and derifion, and rather a reproch 
than a prayfe to any that vfeth it : for commonly who 
fo is fludious in th'Arte or fhewes him felfe excellent 



34 OF POETS 

in it, they call him in difdayne a phantafticall: and a 
light headed or phantafticall man (by conuerfion) they 
call a Poet. And this pjoceedes through the barbar- 
ous ignoraunce of the time, and pride of many Gentle- 
men, and others, whofe groffe heads not being brought 
vp or acquainted with any excellent Arte, nor able to 
contriue, or in manner conceiue any matter of fubtiltie 
in any bufmeffe or fcience, they doe deride and fcorne 
it in all others as fuperffuous knowledges and vayne 
fciences, and whatfoeuer deuife be of rare inuention 
they terme it phantafticall, conftruing it to the worft 
fide: and among men fuch as be modeft and graue, and 
of litle conuerfation, nor delighted in the bufie life and 
vayne ridiculous actions of the popular, they call him 
in fcorne a JPhilofopher or Poet, as much to fay as a 
phantaflicall man, very iniuriouily (God wot) and to the 
manifeftation of their own ignoraunce, not making dif- 
ference betwixt termes. For as the euill and vicious 
difpofition of the braine hinders the founde iudgement 
and difcourfe of man with bufie and difordered phan- 
tafies, for which caufe the Greekes call him (pavr&Gixog, 
fo is that part being well affected, not onely nothing 
diforderly or confufed with any monftruous imagina- 
tions or conceits, but very formal}, and in his much 
multiformitie v?iiforme, that is well proportioned, and 
To paffmg cleare, that by it as by a glaffe or mirrour, 
are reprefented vnto the foule all nianer of bewtifull 
vifions, whereby the inuentiue parte of the mynde is fo 
much holpen, as without it no man could deuife any 
new or rare thing: and where it is not excellent in his 
kind, there could be no politique Captaine, nor any 
witty enginer or cunning artificer, nor yet any law 
maker or counfelior of deepe difcourfe, yea the Prince 
of Philofophers ftickes not to fay animam non intelligere 
abfque phantafmate which text to another purpofe 
. - Alexander Aphrodifcus well noteth, as learned men 
know. And this phantafie may be refembled to a 
glaffe as hath bene fayd, whereof there be many tem- 
pers and manner of makinges, as t\\z perfpecliues doe 



AND P-OESIE. LIB. I. 35 

acknowledge, for fome be falfe glaffes and fhew thinges 
otherwife than they be in deede, and others right as 
they be in deede, neither fairer nor fouler, nor greater 
nor fmairerTThere be againe of thefe glaffes that fhew 
thinges exceeding faire~ancl comely, others that fhew 
figures very monflruous and illfauored. Euen fo is the 
phantaflicall part of man (if it be not difordered) a re- 
prefenter of the bell, mofl comely and bewtifull images 
or apparances of thing es to the fbule and according 
to their very truth. If otherwife, then doth it breede 
Ch: :d monfters in mans imaginations, and not 

onejy in his imaginations, but alio in all his ordinarie 
actions and life which enfues. Wherefore fiicfi perfons 
as be illuminated with the brighteft irradiations of 
knowledge and of the veritie and due proportion of 
thin g s ^ they are called by the learned men not phan- 

Hci but euphantafiote, and of this forte of phantafie 
are all good Poets, notable Captaines ftratagematique, 
all cunning artificers and enginers, all Legiilitors Poli- 
r'::rns and Counfellours of eftate. in whofe exercifes ' 
the inuentiue part is mofl employed and is to the found 

1 true Judgement of man moil needful. This diuer- 
fitie in the termes perchance euery man hath not noted, 
and thus much be laid in defence of the Poets honour, 
to the end no noble and generous minde be difcom- 
forted in the fludie thereof, the rather for that worthy 
and honorable memorial! of that noble woman twife 
French > Anne of Britaine, wife firfl to 

j the \-\y\. and after to Lewes the xij. who 
paffing one day from her lodging toward the ki:: 
fide, faw in a gallerie Mai/ier Atta int Chartier the 
kings Secretarie, an excellent maker or Poet leaning on 
a tables end a ileepe, and flooped downe to kifle him. 

ing thus in all their hearings, we may not of Princely 
: j. afle by and not honor with our kifle the 
from whence fo many iweete ditties and golden 
poems haue ifiued. But me thinks at thefe words I 
heare fome fmilingly fay, I would be loath to lacke lin- 
ing of my own till the Prince gaue me a maner of new 



36 OFPOETS 

JElme for my riming. And another to fay I haue read 
that the Lady Cynthia came once downe out of her 
skye to kiffe the faire yong lad Endimion as he lay a 
fleep: and many "noble 'Queenes that haue bellowed 
kiffes vpon their Princes paramours, but neuer vpon 
any Poets. The third me thinks fhruggingly faith, I 
kept not to fit fleeping with my Poefie till a Queene 
came and killed me. But what of all this ? Princes 
may giue a good Poet fuch conuenient countenaunce 
and alfo benefite as are due to an excellent artificer, 
though they neither kiffe nor cokes them, and the dis- 
cret Poet lookes for no fuch extraordinarie fauours, and 
afwell doth he honour by his pen the iufl, liberall, or 
magnanimous Prince, as the valiaunt, amiable or bew- 
tifull though they be euery one of them the good giftes 
of God. So it feemes not altogether the (come and 
ordinarie difgrace offered vnto Poets at thefe dayes, is 
caufe why few Gentlemen do delight in the Art, but 
for that hberalitie, is come to fayle in Princes, who for 
their krgeffe were wont to be accompted th'onely 
patrons of learning, and firfl founders of all excellent 
artificers. Befides it is not perceiued, that Princes 
them felues do take any pleafure In this fcience, by 
whofe example the fubiect is commonly led, and allured 
to all delights and exercifes be they good or bad, ac- 
cording to the graue faying of the hiftorian. Rex mul- 
titudinem religione implenit. quce femper regent i ftniilis efi. 
And peraduenture in this iron and malitious age of ours, 
Princes are leffe delighted in it, being ouer earneflly 
bent and affected to the affaires of Empire and ambi- 
tion, whereby they are as it were inforced to indeuour 
them felues to armes and praclifes of hofliiitie, or to 
entend to the right pollicing of their flates, and haue 
not one houre to beftow vpon any other ciuill or de- 
lectable Art of naturall or morall doctrine: nor fcarce 
any leifure to Jhincke one good thought in perfect and 
godly contemplation, whereby their troubled mindes 
might be moderated and brought to tranquillitie. So 
as, it is hard to find in thefe dayes of noblemen or 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 37 

gentlemen any good Mathematician, or excellent Mufi- 
lian , or notable Philofopher, or els a cunning Poet : be- 
caufe we find few great Princes much delighted in the 
fame fludies. Now alfo of fuch among the Nobilitie 
or gentrie as be very well feene in many laudable fci- 
ences, and especially in making or Poefie, itj_s fo come 
to paffe that they haue no courage to write and if they 
Haue, yet are they loath to be a knowen. of their skill. 
So as I know very many notable Gentlemen in the 
Court that haue written commendably and fuppreffed 
it agayne, or els fuffred it to be publilht without their 
owne names to it : as if it were a difcredit for a Gentle- 
man, to feeme learned, and to mew him felfe amorous 
of any good Art. In other, ages it was not fo, for we 
read that Kinges and Princes haue written great 
volumes and publifht them vnder their owne regall 
titles. As to begin with Salomon the wifeft of Kings, 
Julius Ccefar the greater! of Emperours, Hermes Jris- 
megiftus the holier! of Prieftes and Prophet es, Euax 
king of Arabia wrote a T Sboke of precious ftones in 
verfe, Prince Auicenna of Phificke "and Philofophie, 
AlpJwnfus king of Spaine his Aflronomicall Tables, 
Almanfor a king oVMarrocco diuerfe Philofophicall 
workeSj and by their regall example our late fouer- 
aigne Lord king Henry the eight wra.te a booke in de- 
fence of his faith, then perfwaded that it was the true 
and Apoflolicall doctrine, though it hath appeared other- 
wife fmce, yet his honour and learned zeaie was noth- 
ing leffe to be allowed. Queenes alfo haue bene knowen 
ftudfous, and to write large volumes, as Lady Margaret 
of Fraunce Queene of Nauarre in our time. But of all 
others the Em perour Nero was fo well learned in 
Mufique and Poefie, as when he was taken by order of 
the Senate ancPappointed to dye, he offered violence 
to him felfe and fayd, O quant us artifex pei'eo I as much 
as to fay, as, how is it poffible a man of fuch fcience 
and learning as my felfe, mould come to this fhame- 
full death ? X!^25pe_rour Oclauian being made exe- 
cutor to Virgill? who had left by his lafl will and tefta- 



38 OF POETS 

ment, that his bookes of the sEneidos fhould be com- 
mitted to the fire as things not perfited by him, made 
his excufe for infringing the deads will, by a nomber of 
1 verfes moll excellently written, whereof thefe are part. 
Frangatur ftotius leguvi veiieranda poteflas, 
Quam tot congeflos ?ioclefque diefque labores 
Hauferit vna dies. And put his name to them. 
^And before him his vncle and father adoptiue Iidius 
Ccefar, was not afhamed to publifh vnder his owne 
name, his Commentaries of the French and Britaine 
warres. Since therefore fo many noble Emperours, 
^ Kings and Princes haue bene fludious of Poefie and 
other ciuill arts, and not afhamed to bewray their skils 
in the fame, let none other meaner perfon defpife 
learning, nor (whether it be in profe or in Poefie, if 
they them femes be able to write, or haue written any 
thing well or of rare inuention) be any whit fqueimifh to 
let it be publifht vnder their names, for reafon ferues 
it, and modefiie doth not repugne. 

CHAP. IX. 

Hotv Poefie JJtould not be imployed vpon vayne conceits 
or vicious or infamous. 

|Herefore the Nobilitie and dignitie o. the 
Art confidered afwell by vhiuerfalitie as 
antiquitie and the naturall excellence of 
it felfe, Poefie ought not to be abafed 
and imployed vpon any vnworthy matter 
and fubiecl;, nor vfed to yaine purpofes, which neuer- 
theleffe is dayly fcene, and that is to vtter conceits in- 
famous and vicious or ridiculous and foolifh, or of no 
good example and dodlrine. Albeit in merry matters 
(not vnhonefl) being vfed for mans folace and recrea- 
* tion it may be well allowed, for as I faid before, Poefie 
is a pleafant maner of vtteraunce varying from the 
ordinarie of purpofe to refrefh the mynde by the eares 
delight. Poefie alfo is not only laudable, becaufe I 
faid it was a metricall fpeach vfed by the firft men, but 




AND POESTE. LIB. I. 39 

becaufe it is a metricall fpeach corrected and reformed 
by difcreet iudgements, and with no leffe cunning and 
curiofitie then the Greeke and Latine Poefie, and by 
Art bewtified and adorned, and brought far from the 
primitiue rudeneffe of the firfl inuentors, otherwife it 
may be fayd to me that Adavi and Eues apernes were 
the gayeft garmentes, becaufe they were the firfl, and the 
fhepheardes tente or pauillion, the befl houfmg, becaufe 
it was the mofl auncient and mofl vniuerfall : which 
I would not haue fo taken, for it is not my meaning 
but that Art and cunning concurring with nature, an- 
tiquitie and vniuerfalitie, in things indifferent, and not 
euill, doe make them more laudable. And right fo our 
vulgar riming Poefie, being by good wittes brought to 
that perfection we fee, is worthily to be preferred be- 
fore any other maner of vtterance in profe, for fuch 
vfe and to fuch purpofe as it is ordained, and mail 
hereafter be fet downe more particularly. 

CHAP. X. 

The fubiecl or matter of Poefie. 

fAuing fufhciently fayd of the dignitie of 
Poets and Poefie, now it is tyme to fpeake 
of the matter or fubiecl; of Poefie, which 
to myne intent is, what foeuer wittie and 
delicate conceit of man meet or worthy 
to be put in written verfe, for any neceffary vfe of the 
prefent time, or good inftruclion of the pofleritie. But 
the chief and principal!, is : the laud honour and 
glory of the immortall gods (I fpeake now in phrafe of 
the Gentiles.) Secondly the worthy gefts of noble 
Princes : the memoriall and regiftry of all great for- 
tunes, the praife of vertue and reproofe of vice, the in- 
ftruclion of mora l! doctrines, the reuealing of fciences 
naturall and other profitable Arts, the redreffe of bois- 
trous and fturdie courages by perfwaiion, the confola- 
tion and repofe of temperate myndes, finally the com- 
mon folace of mankind in all his trauails and cares of 
this tranfitorie life. And in this laft fort being vfed 







40 0FP0ETS 

for recreation onely, may allowably beare matter not 
alwayes of the graueft, or of any great commoditie or 
profit, but rather in fome fort, vaine, diffolute, or wan- 
ton, fo it be not very fcandalous and of euill example. 
But as our intent is to make this Art vulgar for all 
Englifh mens vfe, and therefore are of neceffitie to fet 
downe the principal rules therein to be obfemed: foin 
mine opinion it is no leffe expedient to touch briefly 
all the chief points of this auncient Poefie of the 
Greeks and Latines, fo far forth as it conformeth with 
ours. So as it may be knowen what we hold of them 
as borrowed, and what as of our owne peculiar. 
Wherefore now that we haue faid, what is the matter 
of Poefie, we will declare the manner and formes of 
poemes vfed by the auncients. 

CHAP. XL 

Of poemes and their fundry formes and how thereby the 

auncient Poets receaned fumames. 

S the matter of Poefie is diuers, fo was the 
forme of their poemes and maner of writ- 
ing, for all of them wrote not in one fort, 
euen as all of them wrote not vpon one 
matter. Neither was euery Poet alike 
cunning in all as in fome one kinde of Poefie, nor 
vttered with like felicitie. But wherein any one moil 
excelled, thereof he tooke a furname, as to be called a 
Poet Heroick, Lyriek, Elegiack, Epigrammatift or other- 
wife. Such therefore as gaue themfelues to write long 
hiftories of the noble gefts of kings and great Princes 
entermedling the dealings of the gods, halfe gods or 
Heroes of the gentiles, and the great and waighty con- 
fluences of peace and warre, they called Poets Hero- 
ick, whereof Homer was chief and moil auncient 
among the Greeks, Virgill among the Latines : Others 
who more delighted to write fongs or ballads of plea- 
fure, to be fong with the voice, and to the harpe, lute, or 
citheron and fuch other mufical, inftruments, they were 
called melodious Poets \jnelici\ or by a more common 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 41 

name Liriqiiej Poejs, of which fort was Pindarus, Ana- 
creon and Callimachu s with others among the Greeks : „ 
Horace and Catullus among the Latines. There were - - 
an other fort, who fought the fauor of faire Ladies, 
and coueted to bemone their eftates at large, and the 
perplexities of lone in a certain pitious verfe called 
Elegie, and thence were called Eligiack : fuch among 
the Latines were Ouid, Tibullus, and Propertius. 
There were alfo Poets that wrote onely for the ftage, 
I meane playes and interludes, to rec[r]eate the people 
witE matters of difporte, and to that intent did fet forth 
in fhewes pageants, accompanied with fpeach the com- 
mon behauiours and maner of life of priuate perfons, 
and fuch as were the meaner fort of men, and they 
were called Comicall Poets, of whom among the 
Greekes Menander and Arijlophanes were moil excel- - - 
lent, with the Latines Terence and Plautns. Befides 
thofe Poets Comick there were other who ferued alfo 
the ftage, hut medled not with fo bafe matters : For 
they fet forth the dolefull falles of in fortunate and 
aniicled Prince s,~"~and were called Poets Tragical!. 
Such were Euripides and Sop hocles with the Greeks, 
Seneca among the Latines. There were yet others - 
who mounted nothing fo high as any of them both, but 
in bafe and humble flile by maner of Dialogue, vttered 
the priuate and familiar talke of the meaneft fort of 
men, as fhepheards, heywards and fuch like, fuch was 
among the Greekes Theocritus : and Virgill among the 
Latines, their poems were named Eglogues or fhep- .*• 
heardly talke. There was yet another kind of Poet, 
who intended to taxe the common abufes and vice of 
the people in rough and bitter fpeaches, and their in- 
uectiues were called Satyres, and them felues Satyr- 
icques. Such were Lucilius, luuenall and Perfius among 
the Latines, and with vs he that wrote the booke called 
Piers plowman. Others of a more fine and pleafant 
head were giuen wholly to taunting and fcoffing at 
vndecent things, and in fhort poemes vttered pretie 
merry conceits, and thefe men were called Epigram- 



42 OF POETS 

matifles. There were others that for the peoples good 
inftruction, and triall of their owne witts vfed in 
places of great affembly, to fay by rote nombers of 
fhort and fententious meetres, very pithie and of good 
edification, and thereupon were called Poets Mimifles: 
as who would fay, imitable and meet to be followed 
for their wife and graue leffons. There was another 
kind of poeme, inuented onely to make fport, and to 
refrefh the company with a maner of buffonry or coun- 
terfaiting of merry fpeaches, conuerting all that which 
they had hard fpoken before, to a certaine derifion by 
a quite contrary fence, and this was done, when Co- 
medies or Tragedies were a playing, and that betweene 
the acles when the players went to make ready for 
another, there was great filence, and the people waxt 
weary, then came in thefe maner of conterfaite vices, 
they were called Pantomimic and all that had before 
bene fayd, or great part of it, they gaue a croffe con- 
ftru6tion to it very ridiculoufly. Thus haue you how 
the names of the Poets were giuen them by the formes 
of their poerries and maner of writing. 

CHAP. XII 

Pi what forme of Poefie the gods of the Gentiles 
" were fray fed and honored. 

|He gods of the Gentiles were honoured by 
their Poetes in hymnes, which is an extra- 
ordinarie and diuine praife, extolling and 
magnifying them for their great powers 
and excellencie of nature in the higheft 
degree of laude, and yet therein their Poets were after 
a fort retrained : fo as they could not with their credit 
vntruly praife their owjie gods, or vfe in their lauds 
any maner of groffe adulation or vnueritable report. 
For in any writer vntruth and flatterie are counted 
moft great reproches. Wherfore to praife the gods of 
the Gentiles, for that by authoritie of their owne fabul- 
ous records, they had fathers and mothers, and kinred 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 43 

and allies, and wiues and concubines : the Poets firft 
commended them by their genealogies or p_edegrees. 
their manages and _aliances, their notable exploits in 
the world for the behoofe of mankind, and yet as I 
fayd before, none other wife then the truth of their owne 
memorials might beare, and in fuch fort as it might be 
well auouched by their old written reports, though in 
very deede they were not from the beginning all his- 
torically true, and many of them yerie fictions, and 
fuch of them as were true, were grounded vpon fome 
part of an hiftorie or matter of yeritie , the reft alto- 
gether figuratiue and mifticall, couertly applied to fome 
morall or natural fenfe, as Cicero fetteth it foorth in 
his bppkes de natura deorum. For to fay that Inpiter 
was fpnne to Satunie, and that he maried his owne 
filler Iinw, might be true, for fuch was the guife of all 
great Princes in the Orientall part of the world both at 
thofe dayes and how is. Againe that he loued JDanae, 
Eicropa, Xeda, Califto and other faire Ladies daughters 
to kings, befides many meaner women, it is likely 
enough, becaufe he was reported to be a very incon- 
tinent perfon, and giuen ouer to his luftes, as are for 
the moil part all the great eft Princes, but that he 
mould be the higheft god in heauen, or that he fhould 
thunder and lighten, and do manie other things very 
vnnaturally and abfurdly : alfo that Saturnus fhould 
geld his father Celius, to th'intent to make him vnable 
to get any moe children, and other fuch matters as are 
reported by them, it feemeth to be fome syittie deuiie 
and fiction made lor a purpofe, or a very noble and 
impudent lye, which could not be reafonably fufpecled 
by the Poets, who were otherwife difcreete and graue 
men, and teachers of wifedome to others. Therefore 
either to tranfgrefie the rules of their primitiue records, 
or to feeke to giue their gods honour by belying them 
(otherwife then in that fence which I haue alledged) had 
bene a figne not onely of an vnskilfull Poet, but alfo of 
a very impudent and leude man. For yntrue praife 
neuer giueth any true reputation. But with vs Chrift- 



I~ 



44 OF POETS 

jans, who be better difciplined,, and do acknowledge 
but one God Almightie, euerlafting, and in euery re- 
fpect felfe fuffizant \autharcos\ repofed in all perfedl 
reft and foueraigne bliffe, not needing or exacting any 
forreine helpe or good. To him we can not exhibit 
ouermuch praife, nor belye him any wayes, vnleffe it 
be in abating his exceilencie by fcarfitie of praife, or 
by mifconceauing his diuine nature, weening to praife 
him, if we impute to him fuch vaine delights and pee- 
uifh affections, as commonly the fraileft men are re- 
proued for. Namely to make him ambitious of honour, 
iealous and difficult in his worfhips, terrible, angrie, 
vindicatiue, a louer, a hater, a pitier, and indigent of 
mans worfhips : finally fo paffionate as in effect he 
mold be altogether Anthropopathis. To the gods of 
the Gentiles they might well attribute thefe Infirmities, 
for they were but the children of men, great Princes 
and famous in the world, and not for any other refpecT 
diuine, then by fome refemblance of vertue they had 
to do good, and to benente many. So as to the God 
of the Chriftians, fuch diuine praife might be verified : 
to th'other gods none, but figuratiuely or in mifticall 
fenfe as hath bene (aid. In which fort the ancient 
Poets did in deede giue theni" great honors and praifes^ 
and made to them facrifices, and offred them oblations 
of fundry fortes, euen as the people were taught and 
perfwaded by fuch placatipns and worfhips to receaue 
any helpe, comfort or benefite to them felues, their 
wiues, children, poffeffions or goods. For if that opin- 
ion were not, who would acknowledge any God ? the 
verie Etimologie of the name with vs of the North 
partes of the world declaring plainely the nature of the 
attribute, which is all one as if we fayd good, \bonus\ 
or a giuer of good things. Therfore the Gentiles 
prayed for peace to the goddeffe Pallas: for wane (fuch 
as thriued by it) to the god Mars : for honor and em- 
pire to the god Jupiter: for riches and wealth to Pluto: 
for eloquence and gayne to Met -curie : for fafe nauiga- 
tion to Neptune: for faire weather and profperous 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 45 

windes to Eolus : for skill in mufick and leechcraft to 
Apollo: for free life and challitie to Diana: for bewtie 
and good grace, as alfo for ifiiie and profperitie in 
loue to Venus : for plenty of crop and come to Ceres: 
for feafonable vintage to Bacchus : and for other things 
to others. So many things as they could imagine 
good and defirable, and to fo many gods as they fup- 
pofed to be authors thereof, in fo much as Fortime 
Was made a goddeffe, and the feuer quartaine had her 
aulters, fuch blindnes and ignorance raigned in the 
harts of men at that time, and whereof it nrft proceeded 
and grew, befides t h' opinio n hath bene giuen, appear- 
eth more at large in our bookes of Ierotekni, the matter 
being of another confideration _then to be treated of 
in this worke. And thefe hyrnnes to the gods was the ' 
firfl forme of Poefie and the highefl and the fLateliefl, 
and they were fong by the Poets as priefts, and by the 
people or whole congregation as we fmg in our Churchs 
the Pfalmes of Daiiid, but they did it commonly in 
fome fhadie groues of tall tymber trees : In which 
places they reared aulters of green turie, and beftrewed 
them all ouer with flowers, and vpon them offred 
their oblations and made their blqudy facrifices, (for 
no kinde of gift can be dearer then life) of fuch quick 
cattaille, as euery god was in their conceit mod de- 
lighted in, or in fome other refpedl mod fit for the 
miflerie : temples or churches or other chappels then 
thefe they had none at thofe dayes. 

CHAP. XIII. 

In what for me. of Poefie vice and the common abufes 
of mans life was reprehended. 

|Ome perchance would thinke that next after 
the praife and honoring of their gods, 
mould commence the worfhippings and 
praife of good men, and fpecially of great 
Princes and gouernours of the earth in 
foueraignety and function next vnto the gods. But it 




4 5 OFPOETS 

is not fo, for before that came to pane. 

lied the rebuke of vice, and to 
carpe at the common abufes, fuch as were mofl offen- 
Gue to the publique and priuate, for as yet for lac 
good ciuility and wholefome doctrines, there was gi i 
[lore of lewde lourdaines then of wife and learned 
Lords, or of noble and v d d gouemo urs. 

So as next after the hor ihibited to their gods, 

the Poets finding in man generally much to reproue 
and litie to praife, made certaine poems in plaine 
meelres, more like to fermons or preachings then 
otherwife, and when the people were aflembled togi- 
th.er in thofe hallowed place s iedic ite to their gods, 
ufe they had yet no large haUes or places of con- 
lenticle, nor had any other correction of their faults, 
but fuch as relied onely in rebukes o£ wife and graue 
men. fuch as at thefe dayes make the people afhamed 
rather then afeared, the faid a uncient Poets vfed for 
that purpofe, three kinds of poems reprehenfiue r to wit, 
the S .::;.".". the Cr::.:ie. and the Tragtdie: and the 
ni"fl and moft bitter inuectiue againil vie e icious 

men. was the Sat . : which to di'ii iteat :"-:err bitter^ 
neile mould breede none ill will, either to the Poets, 
r : th e recitours (wliich could not haue bene chofen 
if they had bene openly knowen) and be: 
their admonitions and reproofs fegmje grauer and of 
more erricacie. they made wife as if the gods of the 
woods, whom they called 5 :: Juanes^ mould 

appea re and recite their venes of rebuke, whereas jn 
. the}* were but difguifed perfons Girder the fhape 
as who would fay, thefe terrene and bafe 
gods being conuerfant with mans afiaheSj and fpiers 
out of all their fecret faults : had fome great care ouer 
man, and defrred by good admonitions to reforme the 
euill of their life, and to bring the bad to amendment 
by thofe f preachings, whereupon the Poets 

inuentours of the deuife were calle : ikf. 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 47 

CHAP. XIIIL 
How vice 7£ ( as afterward reproued by two other matte r of 
better reformed then the Satyr e^ whereof the 
firft was Comedy, the fecond Tr age die. 

jVt when thefe maner of folitary fpeaches and 
recitals of rebuke, vttered by the rurall 
gods out of bullies and briers, feemednot 
to the finer heads fufficiently perfwafme, 
nor fo popular as if it were reduced into 
aclion of many perfons, or by many voyces liuely re- 
prefented to the eare and eye, fo as a man might 
thinke it were euen now a doing. The Poets deuifed 
to haue many parts played at once by two or three or 
foure perfons, that debated the matters of the world, 
fometimes of their owne priuate affaires, fometimes of 
their neighbours, but neuer medling with any Princes 
matters nor fuch high perfonages, but commonly of 
marchants, fouldiers, artificers, good honefl houfhol- 
ders, and alfo of vnthrifty youthes, yong damfels, old 
nurfes, bawds, brokers, ruffians and parafites, with fuch 
like, in whofe behauiors, lyeth in effect the whole 
courfe and trade' of mans life, and therefore tended .al- 
togither to the good amendment of man by difcipline 
and example. It was alfo much for the folace and re- 
creation of the common people by reafon of the page- 
ants and fhewes. And this kind of jDoeme was called 
Comedy, and followed next after the Satyre, and by that 
occafion was fomwhat fharpe and bitter after the nature 
of the Satyre, openly and by expreffe names taxing 
men more malicioufly and impudently then became, fo 
as they were enforced for feare of quarell and blame to 
difguife their players with ftrange apparell, and by 
colouring their faces and carying hatts and capps of 
diuerfe fafhions to make them felues leffe knpwen. But 
as time and experience do reforme euery thing that is 
amiffe, fo this bitter poeme called the old Comedy, being 
difufed and taken away, the new Comedy came in place, 
more ciuill and pleafant a great deale and not touch- 



48 OFPOETS 

ing any man by name, but in a certaine generalitie 
glancing at euery abufe, fo as from t henceforth tearing 

none ill will or enmitie at any bodies hands, they left 
afide their difguifmgs and played bare face, till one 
Rojc'ms Gallus the moil excellent player among the 
Romanies brought vp thefe vizards , which we fee at 
this day vfed, partly to fupply the want of players, when 
there were mpe parts than there were perlons, or that 
it was not thought meet to trouble and peiler princes 
chambers with too many folkes. Now by the chaunge 
of a vizard one man might play the king and the carter, 
the old nurfe and the yong damlell, the marchant and 
thefouldier or any other part he lifted very conueniently. 
There be that fay Rofcius did it for another purpofe, 
for being him felfe the belt Hiflrien or buffon that was 
in his dayes to be found, inlomuch as Cicero laid Rofcius 
contended with him by varietie of liuely geftures, to 
furmount the copy of his fpeach, yet becaufe he was 
fquint eyed and had a very vnpleafant countenance, 
and lookes which made him ridiculous or rather odious 
to the prefence,he deuifed thefe vizards to hide his owne 
ilfauored face. And thus much touching the Comedy. 

CHAP. XV. 

In what fgrnie of Poefie the euill and outragious 
behauiours of Princes were rep-ehended. 

jjVt becaufe in thofe dayes when the Poets 
firfl taxed by Satyre and Comedy, there 
was no great ftore of Kings or Emperors 
or fuch high eflats (al men being yet for 
the moil part rude, and in a maner popu- 
larly egall) they could not fay of them or of their 
behauiours any thing to the purpofe, which cafes of 
Princes are fithens taken for the high ell and greateil 
matters of all. But after that fome men among the 
moe became mighty and famous in the world, fouer- 
aignetie and dominion hauing learned them all maner 
of lulls and licentioufnes of life, by which occafions 
alfo their high eilates and felicities fell many times into 




AND PO ESI E. LIB. I. 49 

moil lowe and lamentable fortunes : whereas before in 
their great profperities they were both feared and re- 
uerenced in the higheft degree, after their deathes when 
the pofleritie flood no more in dread of them, their in- 
famous life and tyrannies were layd open to all the 
world, their wickednes reproched, their follies and ex- 
treme infqlencies derided, and their miferable ends 
painted out in playes and pageants, to mew the muta- 
bilitie of fortune, and the iuft punifhment of God in 
reuenge of a vicious and euill life. Thefe matters were 
alfo handled by the Poets, and reprefented by aclion 
as that of the Comedies-, but becaufe the matter was 
higher then that of the Comedies the Poets ftile was alfo 
higher and more loftie, the prouifion greater, the place 
more magnificent : for which purpofe alfo the players 
garments were made more rich and coftly and folemne, 
and euery other thing apperteining, according to that 
rate : So as where the Saiyre was pronounced by rufti- 
call and naked Syluanes fpeaking out of a bum, and the 
common players of interludes called Pkunpedes, played 
barefoot e vpon the floore : the later Comedies vpon 
fcagblds, and by men well and cleanely hofed and {hod. 
Thefe matters of great Princes were played vpon lofty 
itages, and the ac~lors thereof ware vpon their legges 
buskins of leather called Cothurni, and other folemne 
habits, and for a fpeciall preheminence did walke vpon 
thofe high corkecTThoes or pantofles, which now they 
call in Spaine and Italy Shopfiini. And becaufe thofe 
bufkins and high fhoes were commonly made of goats 
fkinnes very finely tanned, and dyed into colours : or 
for that as fome fay 7 the beft players reward, was a 
goate to be giuen him, or for that as other thinke, a 
goate was the peculiar facrifice of the god jPan, king 
of all the gods of the woodes : forafmuch as agoate 
in Greeke is called Iragos, therfore thefe {lately playes 
were called Tragedies. And thus haue ye foure fundry 
formes of Poefie Drammatick reprehenfme, and put in 
execution by the feate and dexteritie of mans body, to 
wit, the Satyre, old Comedie, new Comedie, and Tragedie, 

D 




50 OFPOETS 

whereas all other kinde of poems except Eglogue whereof 
frialbe entreated hereafter, were onely recited by mouth 
or fong with the voyce to fome melodious inftrument. 

CHAP. XVI. 

In what forme of Poefe the great Princes and domina- 
tors of the world were honored. 

iVt as the bad and illawdable parts of all 
eftates and degrees were taxed by the 
Poets in one fort or an other, and thofe 
of great Princes by Tragedie in efpecial, 
(and not till after their deaths) as hath 
bene before remembred, to th'intent that fuch exem- 
plifying (as it were) of their blames and aduerfities, 
being now dead, might worke for a fecret reprehenfion 
to others that were aliue, liuing in the fame or like 
abufes. So was it great reafon that all good and ygir 
tuous perfons mould for their well doings be rewarded 
with commendation, and the great Princes aboue all 
others with honors and praifes, being for many refpedls 
of greater moment, to haue them good and vertuous 
then any inferior fort of men. Wherfore the Poets 
being in deede the trumpetters of all praife and alfo of 
flaunder (not flaunder, but well deferued reproch) were 
in confcience and credit bound next after the diuine 
praifes of the immortall gods, to yeeld a like ratable 
honour to all fuch amongft men, as moil refembled the 
gods by excellencie of function, and had a certaine 
afhnitie with them, by more then humane and ordinarie 
vertues fhewed in their actions here vpon earth. They 
were therfore praifed by a fecond degree of laude : 
(hewing their high eftates, their Princely genealogies 
and pedegrees, manages, aliances, and fuch noble ex- 
plores, as they had done in th' affaires of peace ancfof 
warre to the benefit of their" people and countries, by 
inuention of any noble fcience, or profitable Art, or by 
making wholfome lawes or enlarging of their dominions 
by honorable and iuft conquefts, and many other wayes. 
SucK" perfonages among the Gentiles were Bacchus, 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 51 

Ceres, Perfeus, Hercules, Thcfeus and many other, who 
trlereby came to be accompted gods and halfe gods or 
gpddeffes [Heroes'] and had their commendations giuen 
by Hymne accordingly or by fuch other poems as their 
memorie was therby made famous to the pofleritie for 
~euer after, as Jhal be more at large fayd in place con- 
uenient. But firft we will fpeake fomewhat of the play- 
ing places, and prouifions which were made for their 
"pageants and pomps reprefentatiue before remembred. 

CHAP. XVII. 

Of the places where their enterl udes or poemes dramma- 
ticke were reprefented to the people. 

jjS it hath bene declared, the Satyres were 
firft vttered in their hallowed places within 
the woods where they honoured their gods 
vnder the open heauen, becaufe they had 
no other hpufmg fit for great affemblies. 
The old comedies were plaid in the broad ftreets vpon 
wagons or carts vncouered, which carts were floored 
with bords and made for remouable ftages to paffe 
from one flreete of their towries to another, where all 
the people might ftand at their eafe to gaze vpon the 
lights. Their new comedies or ciuill enterludes were 
played in 0£en pauilions or tents of linnen cloth or 
lether, halfe difplayed that the people might fee. 
Afterward when Tragidies came vp they deuifed to 
prefent them upon fcaffoldes or ftages of timber, - 
fhadowed with linen or lether as the other, and thefe 
ftages were made in the forme of a Semicircle, wherof 
the bow ferued for the beholders to fit in, and the 
itring or forepart was appointed for the floore or place 
where the players vttered, and had in it fundrie little 
diuifions by curteins as trauerfes to feme for feueral 
roomes where they might repaire vnto and change 
their garments and come in againe, as their fneaches 
and parts were to be renewed. Alfo there was place 
appointed for muficiens to fing or to play vpon their 
inflrumentes at "the "end of euery fcene, to the intent 



52 OFPOETS 

the people might be refrefhed, and kept occupied. 
This maner of ftage in halfe circle, the Greekes called 
theatrum, as much to fay as a beholding place, which 
was alfo in fuch fort contriued by benches and greeces ' 
to (land or fit vpon, as no man mould empeach anothers 
fight. But as ciuilitie and withall wealth encreafed, fo 
did the_minde*of man growe dayly more haultie and 
fuperfluous in all his deuifes, fo as for their theaters in 
halfe circle, they came to be by the great magnificence 
of the Romain princes and people fonmtLioully built 
with marble and fquare ftone in forme all round, and 
were called Amphitheaters, whereof as yet appears one 
among the ancient mines of Rome, built by Pompeius 
Magnus, for capafitie able to receiue at eafe fourfcore 
thoufand peribns as it is left written, and fo curioufly 
contriued as euery man might depart at his pleafure, 
without any annoyance to other. It is alfo to be knowne . 
that in thole great A mp hi 'theaters, were exhibited all ma- 
ner of other mewes and difports for the people, as their 
fence piayes, or digladiations of naked men, their wraft- 
lings, runnings, leapings and other praclifes of acliuitie 
and fir ength, alfo their baitings ofwildbeafls,as Elephants, 
Rhinoceros [es], Tigers, Leopards and others, which 
fights much delighted the common people, and there- 
fore the places required to be large and of great content. 

CHAP. XVIIL 

Of the Shepheards or pajlorall Poefie called Eglogue, and 
to vvliat purpofe it was fi}'ft inuenied and vfed. 

I Ome be of opinion, and the clnefe of thofe 
who haue written in this Art among the 
Latines, that the paflorall Poefie which 
we commonly call by the name of Eglogue 
and Biicolick, a tearme brought in by the 
Sicilian Poets, mould be the firft of any other, and 
before the Satyre comedie or tragedie, becaufe, fay 
they, the fhepheards and haywards affemblies and 
meetings when they kept their cattell and heards in the 
common fields and forefts, was the firft familiar con- 




AXD POESIE. LIB. I. 53 

uerfation, and their babbl e and talk vnder birihes and 
JJiarlie trees, the firfl difputation and contentious 
reafoning, and their flefhly heates growing of eafe, the 
firfl idle wooings, and their fongs made to their mates 
or paramours either vpon forrow or iolity of courage, 
the firfl amorous muficks, fometime alio they fang and 
played on their pipes for wagers, firming who mould 
get the befl game, and be counted cunningeft. All 
this I do agree vnto, for no doubt the fhephearcls life 
was the firfl example of honefl felpj^flnp, their trade 
the firfl art of lawfull acquiiition or purchafe, for at 
thefe daies robbery was a manner of purchafe. So faith 
Aristotle in his bppkes of the Politiques, and that~paT- 
turage was before tillage, or liming or fowling, or any 
other predatory art or cheuifance. And all this may 
be true, for before there was a fhepheard keeper of his 
qwne, or of fome other bodies flocte, there was none 
owner in the world, quick cattefT being the firfl pro- 
perty of any forreme poffeffion. I fay forreine, becaufe 
alway men claimed property in their apparell and 
armour, and other like things made by their owne 
trau el and induflry, not thereby was there yet any 
good towne or city or Kings palace, where pageants 
and pompes might be fhewed by Comedies or Trage- 
dies." But for all this. I do deny that the Eglogue fhould 
be the firfl and mofl aimcient forme of artificial! Poefie, 
being perl waded that the Poet deuifed the Eglogue long 
after the other drammatick poems, not of purpoie to 
counterfa it or reprefent the ruflicall manner of loues 
and communication : but vnder the yaile of homely per- 
fons, and in rude fpeeches to infmuate and glaunce at 
greater matters, and fuch as perchance had not bene 
iafe to haue beene difclofed in any other fort, which 
may be perceiued by the Eglogues of Virgil/, in which 
are treated by figure matters of greater importance 
then the loues of Titirus and Cory don. Thefe Eglogues 
came after to containe and enfprrne morall discipline, 
for the amendment of mans behauiour, as be thofe of 
Mantnan and other moderne Poets. 




54 OFPOETS 

CHAP, XIX. 

Of ' historicall Poefie, by which the famous ac~ls of Princes 

and the vert uo7 is and worthy Hues of our foi'e- 

fathers were rep07'ted. 

Here is nothing in man of all the potential 
parts of his mind (reafon and will except) 
more noble or more neceffary to the acliue 
life then memory : becaufe it maketh moil 
to a found iudgement and perfecl worldly 
wifedome, examining and comparing the times paft 
with the prefent, and by them both confidering the 
time to come, coneludeth with a ftedfaft refolution, 
what is the beft courfe to be taken m all his adlions 
and aduices in this world : it came vpon this reafon, 
experience to be fo highly commended in all confulta- 
tions of importance, and preferred before any learning 
or fcience, and yet experience is no more than a maffe 
of memories affembled, that is, fuch trials as manliath 
made in time before. Right fo no kinde of argument 
in all the Oratorie craft, 'doth better perfwade and more 
vniuerfally fatisne then example, which is but the re- 
prefentatiorTof old memories, and like fucceffes hap- 
pened in times paft. For thefe regards the Poefie iiif- 
toricall is of all other next the diuine moil honorable 
and worthy, as well for the common benefit as for the 
fpeciall comfort euery man receiueth by it. No one 
thing in the world with more delectation reuiuing our 
fpirits then to behold as it were in a glaffe the liuely 
image of our deare forefathers, their noble and yer- 
tuous maner of life, with other things autentike, which 
becaufe we are not able otherwife to attaine to the 
knowledge of, by any of our fences, we apprehend 
them by memory, whereas the prefent time and things 
fo fwiftly paffe away, as they giue vs no leafure almoft to 
looke into them, and much leffe to know and confider 
of them throughly. The things future, being alfo euents 
very vncertaine, and fuch as can not poflibly be knoAvre 
becaufe they be not yet, can not be vfed for example 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 55 

nor for delight otherwife then by hope. Though many 
promife the contrary, by vaine and deceitfull arts 
taking vpon them to reueale trie truth of accidents to 
come, which if it were fo as they furmife, are yet but 
fciences meerely conieclurall, and not of any benefit to 
man or to the common wealth, where they be vfed or 
profeffed. Therefore the good and exemplarie things 
and actions of the former ages, were referued only to 
the hifloricall reportes of wife and graue men : thofe 
of the prefent time left to the fruition and iudgement 
of our fences : the future as hazards and incertaine 
euentes vtterly neglected and layd afide for Magicians 
and mockers to get their liuings by : fuch manner of 
men as by negligence of Magiftrates and remiffes of 
lawes euery countrie breedeth great flore of. Thefe 
hiflorical men neLiertheleffe vfed not the matter fo pre- 
cifely to wifh that al they wrote mould be accounted true, 
for that was not needefull nor expedient to the pur- 
pofe, namely to be vfed either for example or for plea- 
fure : confidering that many times it is feene a fained 
matter or altogether fabulous, befides that it maketh 
more mirth than any other, works no leffe good con- 
clufions for example then the mofl true and veritable : 
but often times more,~becaufe the Poet hath the hand- 
ling of them to fafhion at his pleafure, but not fo of th' 
other which muft go according to their veritie and 
none otherwife without the writers great blame. Againe 
asj£ knovv r mo and more excellent examples may be 
fained in one day by a good wit, then many ages 
TErough mans frailtie are able to put in vre, which 
made the learned and wittie men of thofe times to 
deuife many hifloricall matters of no veritie at all, but 
with purpofe to do good and no hurt, as vfing them for 
a maner of difcipline and prefident of commendable 
life. Such was the common wealth of Plato, and Sir 
Thomas Moores Vtofiia, refting all in deuife, but neuer 
put in execution, and eafier to be wiflied then to be 
performed. And you fhall p erceiu e that hiflories were 
of three fortes, wholly true and wholly falfe, and a 



56 OF POETS 

third holding part of either, but for honefl recreation, 
and good example they were all of them. And this 
may be apparant to vs not onely by the Poeticall 
hiftories, but alfo by thofe that be written in profe : 
for as Homer wrate a fabulous or mixt report of the 
fiege of Troy, and another of Uliffes errors or wandrings, 
fo did Mujeus compile a true treatife of the life and 
loues of Leander and Herd, both of them Heroick, and 
to none ill edification. Alfo as Theucidides wrate a 
worthy and veritable hiflorie, of the "wanes betwixt the. 
Athenians and the Pelofionefes : fo did Zenophon, a moil 
graue Philofopher, and well trained courtier and cpunfel- 
lour make another (but fained and vntrue) of the child- 
hood of Cyrus king of Perfia, neuertheles both to one 
effect, that is for example and good information of the 
ijofleritie. Now becaufe the actions of meane and 
bafe perfonages, tend in very few cafes to any great 
good example : for who paffeth to follow the fleps, and 
maner of life of a craftes man, fhepheard or failer, 
though he were his father or deareft frend ? yea how 
almofl is it poffible that fuch maner of men mould be 
of any vertue other then their profeffion requireth? 
Therefore was nothing committed to hiflorie, but mat- 
ters of great and excellent perfons and things that the 
fame by irritation of good courages (fuch as emulation 
caufeth) might worke more effectually, which occafioned 
the ftory writer to chufe an higher flile fit for his fub- 
iect, the Profaicke in profe, the Poet in meetre, and 
the Poets was by verfe exameter for his grauitie and 
flatelineffe mofl allowable : neither would they inter- 
mingle him with any other fhorter meafure, vnleffe it 
were in matters of fuch qualitie, as became befl to be 
fong with the voyce, and to fome muficall inflrument, 
as were with the Greeks, all your Hymnes and En- 
comia of Pindamis and Callimachus, not very hiftories 
but a maner of hifloricall reportes in which cafes they 
made thofe poemes in variable meafures, and coupled 
a fhort verfe with a long to feme that purpofe the 
better, and we our femes who compiled this treatife 



AND POESIE. LIB. 1. 57 

haue written for pleafure a litle brief Romance or hif- 
toricall ditty in the Englifh tong of the File of great 
Tiritaine in fhort and long meetres, and by breaches or 
diuifions to be more commodiouily fong to the harpe 
in places of affembly, where the company fhalbe de- 
firous to heare of old aduentures and valiaunces of 
noble kniglrTs in times pad, as are thofe of king Arthur 
and his knights o" the round table, Sir Beuys of 
Southampton, Guy of Warwicke and others like. Such 
as haue not premonition hereof, and confideration of 
the caufes ailedged, would peraduenture reproue and 
difgrace euery Romance, or fhort liiftoricall ditty for that 
they be not written in long meeters or verfes Alexan- 
drins, according to the nature and ftile of large hiilories, 
wherjn they mould do wrong for they be lundry 
/nes of poems and not all one. /iC$ / ^ CA ^ AA A 

CHAP. XX. 
In what forme o f Poefie vertue in the infer iour 

fort was commended. 

65^p|lN euerie degree and fort of men vertue is 
Ell (fall commendable, but not egally : not onely 
I HUll becaufe m ens eftates £re ynegall. but for 
ra^J|2§ that alio vertue it felfe is not in euery re- 
fpect of egall value and eftimation. For 
continence in a king is of greater merit, then in a car- 
ter, th'one hauing all opportunities to allure him to 
lufts,"and~abilirie to feme his appetites, th'other partly, 
for the bafeneffe of his eflate wanting fuch rneanes and 
occafions, partly by dread of lawes more inhibited, and 
not fo vehemently caried away with vnbridled affec- 
tions, and therfore deferae not in th'one and th'other 
like praife nor ^equall reward, by the very ordinarie 
courfe of diilributme iuftice. Euen fo paiiimonie and 
illiberalitie are greater vices in a Prince then in a pri- 
r p erf on, and puiillanimitie and iniuftice likewife : 
for to jhjonej fortune hath fupplied inough to main- 
taine them in the contrarie vermes, I meane, fortitude, 
iuftice. liberalitie, and magnanimitie : the Prince hauing 



5S OFPOETS 

all plentie to vfe largefle by, and no want or neede to 
driueTiim to do wrong. Alfo all the aides that m 
be to lift vp his courage, and to make him flout and 
fearelel Yc :' cuiimos fortume) faith the MimiJI. and 

very truly, for nothing pulleth downe a mans he 
fo much as aduerlitie and lacke . Againe in a meane 
man pre ligalitie and pride are more reprehen- 

sible then in Princes, whofe higB eflates do require in 
the:: snance, fpeech and expence, a certaine ex- 

traordinaiy. and their functions enforce them fometime 
to exceede the limites of mediocritie not excufable in a 
priuat perfon, whofe maimer of life and calling hath 
no fuch exigence. B elides the good and bad of Princes 
is more exempla rie. and thereby of greater moment 
then the pnuate perfons. Therfore it is that the in- 
feriour perfons. with their inferiour venues haue a cer- 
taine inferiour praife, to guerdon their good with, and 
to comfort them to continue a laudable courfe in the 
modeft and honefl life and behauiour. But this lyetli, 
not in written laudes fo much as ordinary reward and 
commendation to be giuen them by the mouth of the 
mperiour magiilrate. For hiftpries were not intended 
to fo generall and i»afe a purr :'z. ?,Y: eit many a meane 
fouldier and other obfeure perfons were fpoken of a: 
made famous in (lories, as we finde of Irus the begge 
and Therfttes the glorious noddie. whom Homer maketh 
mention of. But that happened (and fo did many like 
memories of meane men) by reafon of fome greater 
perfonage or matter that it was long of, which there- 
fore could not bejm vniuerfall cafe nor chaunce to 
euery other good and vertuous perfon of the meaner 
fort. Wherefore the Poet in praif:: aner :: ':.it 

or death of anie meane perfon. did it by fome 1: 
a or Epitaph in fewe verfes and me: 
ftile conformable to his fubiecl. So haue you how the 
immortall gods were praifed by hymnes . the great Princes 
and heroicke perfona : praife called E 

ccniia. both of them by hilioricall reports of great grau: 
and maie ftie, the inferiour perfons by other flight poemes. 







AND POESIE. LIB. I. 59 

CHAP. XXI 

The forme wherein honeft and profitable Artes 
and fciences were treated. 

|He profitable fciences were no jeffe meete 
to be imported to the greater number of 
ciuill men for inftruction of the people 
and increafe of knowledge, then to be re- 
ferued and kept for clerke s and great men 
onely . So as next vnto the things hift orica ll fuch 
doctrines and arts as the common wealth fared the 
better by, were efteemed and allowed. And the fame 
were treated by Poets in verfe Exameter fauouring the 
Heroical ly and for the grauitie and comelineffe of the 
meetre moil vfed with the Greekes and Latines to fad 
purpofes. Such were the Philqfophicall works of 
Lucretius Car us among the Romaines, the Aftronomi- 
call of Aratus and Manilius, one Greeke th'other 
Latine, the Medicinall of Nicander, and that of Opri- 
anus of hunting and fifties, and many moe that were 
too long to recite in this place. 

CHAP. XXII. 

In what forme of Poefie the amorous ajfeclions and 

allureme7its were vttered. 

^He firft founder of all good affections is 1 ~ 
honeft loue, as the mother of all the vici- 
ous is hatred. It was not therefore with- 
out reafon that fo commendable, y_ea hon- 
ourable a thing as loue well meant, were 
it in Princely eftate or priuate, might in all ciuil com- 
mon wealths be vttered in good forme and order as 
other laudable things are. And becaufe loue is of all 
other humane affections the moft puiffant and paffion- 
ate, and moft generall to all fortes and ages of men 
and women, fo as whether it be of the yong or old or 
wife or holy, or high eftate or low, none" euer could 
truly J^ragge of any exemption in that cafe: it requireth 
a forme of Poefie variable, inconftant, affected, curi- 





60 OFPOETS 

ous and moil witty of any others, whereof the ioyes 
were to be vttered in one forte, the forrowes in an other, 
and by the many formes of Poefie, the many moodes 
and pangs of louers, throughly to be difcouerecl : the 
poore foules fometimes praying, befeeching, fometime 
honouring, auancing, praifmg : an other while railing, 
reuiling, and curfing : then forrowlhgTweeping, lament- 
ing : in the ende laughing, reioyfmg and folacing the 
beloued agaihe, with a thoufand delicate deuifes, odes, 
fongs, elegies, ballads, fonets and other ditties, moouing 
one way and another to great compaffion. 

CHAP. XXIII. 

The forme of Poeticall reioyfings. 

|Leafure is the chiefe parte of mans felicity 
in this world, and alfo (as our Theologians 
fay) in the world to come. Therefore 
while we may (yea alwaies if it coulde be) 
to reioyce and take our pleafures in ver- 
tuous and honefl fort, it is not only allowable, but alfo 
neceffary and very naturall to man. And many be the 
ioyes and confolations of the hart : but none greater, 
than fuch as he may vtter and difcouer by fome con- 
uenient meanes : euen as to fugpreffe and hide a 
mans mirth, and not to haue therein a partaker, or at 
lead wife a witnes, is no little griefe and infelicity. 
Therfore nature and ciuility haue ordained (beiides 
the priuate folaces) publike reioifmgs for the comfort 
and recreation of many. And they be of diuerfe forts 
and vpon diuerfe occafions growne : one and the chiefe 
was for the" publike peace of" a countrie the greateft of 
any other ciuill good. And wherein your Maieftie 
(my molt gracious Soueraigne) haue mewed your felfe 
to all the world for this one and thirty yearesYpace of 
your glorious raigne, aboue all other Princes of Chriften- 
dome, not onely fortunate, but alfo moft fufhcient ver- 
tuous and worthy of Empire. An. other is for iuft and 
honourable victory atchieued againft the forraine enemy. 
A third at folemne feafts and pompes of coronations 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 61 

and enltallments of honourable orders. An other for 
iollity at weddings a"nd marriages. An other at the 
births of Princes children. An other for priuate 
entertainements in Court, or other fecret difports 
in cham ber, and fuch folitary places. And as thefe 
reioyfmgs tend to diuers effects, fo do they alfo 

rry diuerfe formes and nominations : for thofe of 
victorie and peace are called Triumphal^ whereof we 

it felues haue heretofore giuen fome example by our 
Trhi?np}ials written in honour of her Maieflies long 
peace. And they were vfed by the auncients in like 
manner, as we do our generall proceffions or Letanies 
with bari id bonefires and all manner of ioyes . 

Thofe that were to honour the perfons of great Princes 
or to folemnife the" pompes of any inftallment were 
called Encomia, we may call them carols of honour. 
Thofe to celebrate marriages were called fongs nup- 
tiall or Efithala?nies, but in a certain e miflicall fenfe 
as fhall be faid hereafter. Others for magnificence at 
the natalities of Princes children, or by cuflo me vied 
yearely vpon the fame dayes, are called fongs nata ll or 
Gen Others for fecret recreation and paftime 

in chambers with company or alone were the ordinary 
morous, fuch as might be fong with voice 
or to the Lute, Chheron or Harpe, or daunced by 
meafures as the Italian Pauan and gal ; at thefe 

daies in Princes Courts and other places of honour- 
able or quill affembly, and of all thefe we will f peake 
in order and very briefly. 

CHAP. XXIIIL 
The forme of Poetical I lamentations. 

I Amenting is altogether contrary to reioifmg, 
euery man faith fo, and yet is it a peece 
of ioy to be able to lament with eafe, and 
freely to poure forth a mans inward for- 
rowes and the greets wherewith his minde 
is furcharged. This was a very neceffary deuife of 
the Poet and a fine, befides his poetrie to play alfo 




62 OF POETS 

the Phifitian, and not onely by applying a medicine to 
the ordinary fickngs of mankind, but by making the 
very greef it felfe (in part) cure of the difeafe. Nowe 
are the caufes of mans fprrowes many : the death of 
his parents, frends, allies, and children : (though many 
of the barbarous nations do reioyce at their burials 
and forrow at their birthes) the ouerthrowes and dif- 
comforts in battell, the fubuerfions of townes and cities, 
the defolations of countreis, the loffe of goods and 
worldly promotions, honour and good renowne : fin- 
ally the trauails and torments of loue forlorn e or ill_ 
beftowed, either by difgrace, deniall, delay, and twenty 
other wayes, that well experienced louers could recite. 
Such of thefe greefs as might be refrained or holpen 
by wifedome, and the parties owne good endeuour, 
the toet gaue none order to forrow them : for nrft 
as to the good renowne it is loll, for the more part by 
fome default of the owner, and may be by his well 
doings recouered againe. And if it be vniullly taken 
away, as by vntrue and famous libels, the offenders 
recantation may fuffife for his amends : fo did the 
Poet Stefichorus, as it is written of him in his PaUinodie 
vpon the difprayfe of Helena, and recouered his eye 
fight. Alfo for worldly goods they come and go, as 
things not long proprietary to any body, and are not 
yet fubiecl vnto fortunes dominion fo, but that we our 
felues are in great part acceffarie to our own loffes 
and hinderaunces, by ouerfight and mifguiding of our 
felues and our things, therefore why mould we bewaile 
our fuch voluntary detriment? But death the irre- 
couerable loffe, death the dolefull departure of frendes, 
that can neuer be recontinued by any other meeting 
or new acquaintance. Befides our vncertaintie and 
fufpition of their eftates and welfare in the places of 
their new abode, feemeth to carry a reafonable pre- 
text of iufi forrow. Likewife the great ouerthrowes in 
battell and defolations of countreys by warres, afwell 
for the loffe of many Hues and much libertie as for 
that it toucheth the whole Hate, and euery priuate 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 63 

man hath his portion in the damage: Finally for loue, 
there is no frailtie in flefh and bloud fo excufable as 
it, no comfort or difcomfort greater then the good and 
bad fucceffe thereof, nothing more natural! to man, 
nothing of more force to vanquifh his will and to in- 
uegle his iudgement. Therefore of death and burials, 
of th'aduerfities by wanes, and of true loue loft or ill 
bellowed, are tlVonely forrowes that the noble Poets 
fought by their arte to remoue or appeafe, not with 
any medicament of a contrary temper, as the Galenijles 
vfe to" cure \corifraria contrarijs\ but as the Paracelfians, 
who cure \Jimilia Jlmilibus] making one dolour to ex- 
pell another, and in this cafe, one fhort forrowing the 
remedie of a long and grieuous forrow. And the 
lamenting of deathes was chiefly at the very burial] s 
of the dead, alio at monethes mindes and longer times, 
by cuftqme continued yearely, when as they vfed 
many offices of feruice and loue towardes the dead, 
a.nd thereupon are called Obfeqtdes in our vulgare, 
which was done not onely by cladding the mourners 
their friendes and feruauntes in blacke veftures, of 
fhape dolefull and fad, but alio by wofull counten- 
aunces and yoyces, and befides by Poeticall mourn- 
ings in verfe. Such funerall fongs were called Efiicedia 
if they were fong by many, and Monodia if they were 
vttered by one alone, and this was vfed at the inter- 
ment of Princes and others of great accompt, and it 
was reckoned a great ciuilitie to vfe fuch ceremonies, 
as at this day is alfo in fome cojmtrey vfed. In Rome 
they accuflomed to make orations funerall and com- 
mendatorie of the dead parties in the publique place 
called TProco Jlris : and our Theologians, in Head thereof 
vfe to make fermons, both teaching theTpeople fome 
good learning, and alfo faying well of the departed. 
Thofe fongs of the dolorous difcomfits in battaile, and 
other defolations in wane, or of townes faccaged and 
fubuerted, were fong by the remnant of the army ouer- 
throwen, with great fkrikings and outcries, holding the 
wrong end 01 their weapon vp wards in figne of forrow 




64 OFPOETS 

and difpaire. The cities alfo made generall mournings 
and offred facrifices with Poeticall longs to appeafe 
the wrath of the martiall gods and goddeffes. The 
third forrowing was of loues, by long lamentation in 
Elegie : fo was their fong called, and it was in a pitious 
maner of meetre, placing a limping Pentameter, after 
a lufty Exameter, which made it go dolouroufly more 
then any other meeter. 

CHAP. XXV. 

Of the folemne reioyfings at the natiuitie of 
Princes children. 

|0 returne from forrow to reioyfmg it is a 
very good hap and no vnwife part for him 
that can do it, I fay therefore, that the 
comfort of iffue and procreation of child- 
ren is fo naturall and fo great, not onely 
to all men but fpecially to Princes, as duetie and ciuil- 
itie haue made it a common cuftome to reioyfe at the 
birth of their noble children, and to keepe thofe dayes 
hallowed and feftiuall for euer once in the yeare, dur- 
ing the parentes or childrens Hues : and that by pub- 
lique order and confent. Of which reioyfings and 
mirthes the Poet miniftred the firft occafion honor- 
able, by prefenting of ioyfull fongs and ballades, prayf- 
ing the parentes by proofe, the child by hope, the 
whole kinred by report, and the day it felfe with 
wifhes of all good fucceffe, long life, health and prof- 
peritie for euer to the new borne. Thefe poemes were 
called in Greeke Genetliaca, with vs they may be 
called natall or birth fongs. 

CHAP. XXVI. 
The maner of reioyfings at mariages and weddings. 

IS the confolation of children well begotten 
is great, no leffe but rather greater ought 
to be that which is occafion of children, 
that is honorable matrimonie, a loue by 
al lawes allowed, not mutable nor encomb- 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 65 

redwith fuch vaine cares andpaffions, as that other loue, 
whereof there is no affurance, but loofe and fickle 
affection occasioned Tor the moil part by fodaine fights 
and acquaintance of no long triall or experience, nor 
vpon any other good ground wherein any furetie may 
be concerned : wherefore the Ciuill Poet could do no 
lege in conscience and credit, then as he had before 
done to the ballade of birth : now with much better 
deuotion to celebrate by his poeme the chearefull day 
of manages afwell Princely as others, for that hath 
al waves bene accompted with euery countrey and 
nation of neuerfo barbarous people, the higheft and 
holiefl, of any ceremonie apperteining to man : a match 
forfooth made for euer and not for a day, a folace pro- 
uided for youth, a comfort for age, a knot of alliance 
and amitie indiffoluble : great reioyfmg was therefore 
due to fuch a matter and to fo gladfome a time. 
This was done in ballade wife as thenatall fong, and 
was long very fweetely 5y "Mufitians at the chamber 
dore of the Bridegroome and Bride at fuch times as 
fhalbe hereafter declared and they were called Epitha- 
Jamies as^ much to fay as ballades at the bedding of 
the bride flbr fuch as were fong at the borde at dinner 
or fupper were other Mufickes and not properly Epitha- 
lamies. Here, if I mail fay that which apperteineth 
to th'arte, and difclofe the miflerie of the whole matter, 
I mufl and doe with all humble reuerence befpeake 
pardon of the chafte and honorable eares, leaft I mould 
either offend them with licentious fpeach, or leaue them 
ignorant of the ancient guile in old times vfed at wed- 
dings (in my fimple opinion) nothing reproueable. 
This Epiihalamie was deuided by breaches into three 
partes to feme for three feuerall fits or times to be fong. 
The firfl breach was fong at the firft parte of the night 
when the fpoufe and her husband were brought to their 
bed and at the very chamber dore, where m a large 
vtter roome vfed to be (befides the mufitiens) good 
llore of ladies or gentlewomen of their kinfefolkes, and 
others who came to honor the mariage, and the tunes 

E 



66 OFPOETS 

of the fongs were very loude and fhrill, to the intent 
there might no noife be hard out of the bed chamber 
by the skreeking and outcry of the young damofell 
feeling the "firft forces of her ftijje and rigorous young 
man, fhe being as all virgins tender and weake, and 
vn expert in thofe maner of affaires. For which purpofe 
alfo they vfed by old nurfes (appointed to that feruice) 
to fuppreffe the noife by calling of pottes full of nuttes 
round about the chamber vpon the hard floore or 
pauement, for they vfed no mattes nor rufhes as we 
doe now. So as the Ladies and genHe.women mould 
haue their eares fo occupied what with Muhcke, and 
what with their handes wantonly f Gambling and catch- 
ing after the nuttes, that they could not intend to 
harken after any other thing. This was as I faid to 
diminifh the noife of the laughing lamenting fpoufe. 
The tenour of that part of the fong was to congratulate 
the firft acquaintance and meeting of the young couple, 
allowing of their parents good dilcretions in making the 
match, then afterward to found cherfully to the onfet 
and firft encounters of that amorous battaile, to declare 
the comfort of children, and encreaie of loue by that 
meane cheifly caufed : the bride mewing her felf euery 
waies well difpofed and ftill fupplying occafions of new 
luftes and loue to her husband, by her obedience and 
amorous embracings and all other allurementes. About 
midnight or one of the clocke, the Muficians came 
again to the chamber dore (all the Ladies and other 
women as they were of degree, hauing taken their 
leaue, and being gone to their reft.) This part of the 
ballade was to refrefh the faint and weried bodies and 
fpirits, and to animate new appetites with cherefull 
wordes, encoraging them to the recontinuance of the 
fame entertainments, praifmg and commending (by 
fuppofall) the good conformities of them both, and 
their defire one to vanquifh the other by fuch frendly 
conflictes : alledging that the firft embracementes 
neuer bred barnes, by reafon of their overmuch affection 
and heate, but onely made paffage for children and en- 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 67 

forced greater liking to the late made match. That 
the fecond affaultes, were lefle rigorous, but more 
vigorous and apt to auance the purpofe of procreation, 
that therefore they iliould perhft in all good appetite 
with an inuincible courage to the end. This was the 
fecond part of the Epithalamie. In the morning when 
it was faire broad day, and that by liklyhood all tournes 
were fufficiently ferued, the laft acles of the enterlude 
being ended, and that the bride muft within few hours 
arife and apparrell her felfe, no more as a virgine, but 
as a wife, and about dinner time muft by order come 
forth Sicut fponfa de thalamo, very demurely and ftately 
to be fene and acknowledged of her parents and kins- 
folkes whether fire were the fame woman or a change- 
ling, or dead or aliue, or maimed by any accident 
noclurnall. The fame Muficians came againe with this 
laft part, and greeted them both with a Pfalme of new 
applaufions, for that they had either of them fo well 
behaued them felues that night, the husband to rob his 
fpoufe of her maidenhead and faue her life, the bride 
fo luftely to fatisfie her husbandes loue and fcape with 
io litle daunger of her perfon, for which good chaunce 
that they fhould make a louely truce and abflinence of 
that warre till next night fealing the placard of that 
louelyTeague, with twentie* maner of fweet kiffes, then 
by good admonitions enformed them to the frugall and 
thriftie life all the reft of their dayes. The good man 
getting and bringing home, the wife fauing that which 
Tier nufband mould gtt, therewith to be the better able 
to keepe good hofpitalitie, according to their eftates, 
and to bring vp their children, (if God fent any) vertu- 
qufly, and the better by their owne good example. 
Finally to perfeuer all the reft of their life in true and 
inuiolable wedlocke. This ceremony was omitted 
when men maried ^widowes or fuch as had tafted the 
frutes of loue before, (we call them well experienced 
young women) in whom there was no feare of daunger 
to their perfons, or of any outcry at all, at the time of 
thofe terrible appro ches. Thus much touching the 



6S OFPOETS 

vfage of Epithalamie or bedding ballad of the ancient 
times, in which if there were any wanton or lafciuious 
matter more then ordinarie which they called Ficenina 
licentia it was borne withal for that time becaufe of the 
matter no leffe requiring. Catullus hath made of them 
one or two very artinciall and ciuil : but none more 
excellent then of late yeares a young noble man of 
Geraianie as I take it Johannes fecundus who in that 
and in his poeme De bafts, paffeth any of the auncient 
or moderne Poetes in my iudgment. 

CHAP. XXVII. 

The manner of Poefie by which they vttered their bitter 

taunts, and priuy nips, or witty feoff es and other 

merry conceits. 

|Vt all the world could not keepe, nor any 
ciuill ordinance to the contrary fo preuaile, 
but that men w r ould and mull needs vtter 
their fplenes in all ordinarie matters alfo : 
or elfe it feemed their bowels would burft, 
therefore the poet deuifed a prety fafhioned poeme 
fhort and fweete (as we are wont to fay) and called it 
Epigramma in which euery mery conceited man might 
without any long ftudie or tedious ambage, make his 
frend fport, and anger Jtiis foe, and giue a prettie nip, or 
mew a fharpe conceit in few verfes : for this Epigramme 
is but an infeription or writting made as it were vpon a 
table, or in a windowe, or vpon the wall or mantell of 
a chimney in ibme place of common refort, where it 
was allowed euery man might come, or be fitting to 
chat and prate, as now in our tauernes and common 
tabling houfes, where many merry heades meete, and 
fcrible with ynke, with chalke, or with a cole fuch mat- 
ters as they would euery man mould know, and def- 
cant vpon. Afterward the fame came to be put in 
paper and inbookes, and vfed as ordinarie miffiues, fome 
of frendfhip, fome of denaunce, or as other meffages of 
mirth : Martiall was the cheife of this skil among the 
Latines, and at thefe days the bell Epigrammes we 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 69 

finde, and of the fharpeft conceit are thofe that haue 
Fene gathered among the reliques of the two muet 
Satyres in Rome, Pafquill and " Marp horir, which in 
time of Scde vacante, when merry conceited men lifted 
to gibe and left at the dead Pope, or any of his Cardi- 
nales, they faftened them vpon thofe Images which now 
lie in the open ftreets, and were tollerated, but after 
that terme expired they were inhibited againe. Thefe 
infcriptiohs or Epigrammes at their begining had no 
certaine author that would auouch them, fome for feare 
of blame, if they were ouer faucy or fharpe, others for 
modeftie of the writer as was that difticke of Virgil 
wHich he fet vpon the pallace gate of the emperour 
Auguftus, which I will recite for" the breifnes and quick- 
ness of it, and alfo for another euente that fell out vpon the 
mater worthy to be remembred. Thefe were the verfes. 
, Node pluit tola, redeunt fpeclacula mane 

Diuifum imperium cum lone Ccefar habet. 
Which I haue thus Englifhed, 

It raines all night, early thejheives returne 

God and Ccefar, do rajgne and rule by turne. 
As much to fay, God fheweth his power by the night 
raines. Caefar his magnificence by the poinpes of the 
day. 

Thefe two verfes were very well liked, and brought 
to th'Emperours ^laieftie, who t ooke great pleafure in 
them, and willed the author mould be knowen. A 
faufie courtier profered him felfe to be the man, and 
had a good reward giuen him: for the Emperour him 
felf was not only learned, but of much munificence to- 
ward all learned men: whereupon Virgill feing him 
felf by his ouermuch modeftie defrauded of the reward, 
that an impudent had gotten by abufe of his merit, 
came the next night, and faftened vpon the fame place 
this halfe metre, fonre times iterated. Thus. 

Sic z'os non vobis 

Sic vos non vobis 

Sic vos non vobis 

Sic vos non vobis 



7o OFPOETS 

And there it remained a great while becaufe no man 
will what it meant, till Virgill opened the whole fraude 
by this deuife. He wrote aboue the fame halfe metres 
this whole verfe Exameter. 

Hos ego verfuulos feci tulit alter honor es. 
And then finifhed the foure half metres, thus. 
Sic vos non vobis Fertis aratra bones 

Sic vos non vobis Vellera fertis oues 

Sic vos non vobis Mellificatis apes 

Sic vos non vobis Lidiftcatis aues. 

And put to his name Publius Virgilius Maro. This 
matter came by and by to Th'emperours eare, who 
taking great pleafure in the deuife called for Virgill, and 
gaue him not onely a prefent reward, with a good 
allowance of dyet a bonche in court as we vfe to call 
it: but alfo held him for euer after vp on larger triall 
he had made of his learning and yertue in fo great re- 
putation, as he vouchfafed to giue him the name of a 
jrend (amicus) which among the Romanes was fo great 
an honour and fpeciall fauour, as all fuch perfons were 
allowed to the Emperours table, or to the Saiatqurs 
who had receiued them (as frendes) and they were the 
only men that came ordinarily to their boords, and 
iblaced with them in their chambers, and gardins when 
none other could be admitted. 

CHAP. XXVIII. 

Of the poeme called Epitaph v fed for me- 
ntor iall of the dead. 

N Epitaph is but a kind of Epigram only 
applied to the report of the dead perfons 
eftate and degree, or of his other good or 
bad partes, to his commendation or re- 
proch : and is an infcription fuch as a man 
may commodioufly write or engraue vpon a tombe in 
few verfes, githie, quicke and fententious for the paffer 
by to perufe, and iudge vpon without any long tariaunce : 
So as if it exceede the meafure of an Epigram, it is 
then (if the verfe be cprrefpondent) rather an Elegie 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 71 

then an Epitaph which errour many of thefe baftard 
rimers commit, becaufe they be not learned, nor (as we 
are wont to fay) catftes mailers, for they make long and 
tedious difcourfes, and write them in large tables to be 
hanged vp in Churches and chauncells ouer the tombes 
of great men and others, which be fo exceeding long 
as one mull haue halfe a dayes leafure to reade one of 
them, and mull be called away before he come halfe to 
the end, or elfe be locked into the Church by the Sex- 
ten as I my felfe was once ferued reading an Epitaph 
in a certain cathedrall Church of England. They be 
ignorant of poefie that call fuch long tales by the name 
of Epitaphes',they might better call them Elegies, as I 
faidbefore, and then ought neither to be engrauen nor 
hanged vp in tables. I haue feene them neuertheles 
vpon many honorable tombes of thefe late times erect- 
ed, which doe rather difgrace^ then honour either the 
matter or maker. 

CHAP. XXIX. 

A certain e auncient forme of poefie by which men 

did vfe to reproch their enemies. 

S frendes be a rich and ioyfull poffeffion, fo be 
foes a continuall torment and canker to the 
minde of man, and yet there is no poffible 
meane to auoide this inconuenience, for 
the bell of vs all, and he that thinketh he 
Hues moll blameleffe, liues not without enemies, that 
enuy him for his good parts, or hate him for his euill. 
There be wife men, and of them the great learned man 
Plutarch tooke vpon them to perfwade the benente 
that men receiue by their enemies, which though it 
may be true in manner of Paradoxe, yet I finde mans 
frailtie to be naturally fuch, and ahvayes hath beene, 
that he cannot conceiue it in his owne cafe, nor Ihew 
that patience and moderation in fuch greifs, as becom- 
meth the man pernte and accomplilht in all vertue : 
but either in deede or by word, he will feeke reuenge 
againft them that malice him, or graclife his harmes, 




72 OFPOETS 

fpecially fuch foes as oppofe themfelues to a mans 
loues. This made the auncient Poetes to inuent a 
meane to rid the gall of all fuch Vindicative men : fo as 
they might be a wrecked of their wrong, and neuer bely 
their enemie with flaunderous vntruthes. And this was 
done by a maner of imprecation, or as we call it by 
curling and banning of the parties, and wifhing all euill 
to a light vpon them, and though it neuer thefooner hap- 
pened, yet was it great eafment to the boiling ftomacke : 
They were called Dircz, fuch as Virgill made ag[a]infl 
B attar us, and Ouide againfl Ibis: we Chriftians are for 
bidden to vfe fuch vncharitable famions, and willed to 
referre all our reuenges to God alone. 

CHAP. XXX. 

OfJJiort Epigrames called Pofies. 

IHere be alfo other like Epigrammes that 
I were fent vfually for new yeares giftes or 
to be Printed or put vpon their banketting 
dimes of fuger plate, or of march paines, 
and fuch other dainty meates as by the 
curtefie and cuftome euery geft might carry from a com- 
mon feaft home with him to his owne houfe, and were 
made for the nonce, they were called Nenia or apopho- 
reta^ and neuer contained aboue one verfe, or two at 
the moft, but the fhorter the better, we call them Po- 
fies, and do paint them now a dayes vpon the backe 
fides of our fruite trenchers of wood, or vfe them as de- 
uifes in rings and amies and about fuch courtly pur- 
pofes. So haue we remembred and fet forth to your 
Maieftie very briefly, all the commended fourmes of the 
auncient Poefie, which we in our vulgare makings do 
imitate and vfe vnder thefe common names : enterlude, 
fong, ballade, carroll and ditty : borrowing them alfo 
from the French al fauing this word (fong) which is our 
naturall Saxon Englifh word. The reft, fuch as time 
and vfurpation by cuftome haue allowed vs out of the 
primitiue Greeke and Latine, as Comedie, Tragedie, 
Ode, Epitaphe, Elegie, Epigramme, and other moe. 




AND POESIE. LIB. I. 73 

And we haue purpofely omitted all nice or fcholafticall 
curiofities not meete for your Maiefties contemplation 
in this our vulgare arte, and what we haue written of 
the auncient formes of Poemes, we haue taken from the 
befl clerks writing in the fame arte. The part that 
next followeth to wit of proportion, becaufe the Greeks 
nor Latines neuer had it in vfe nor made any obfer- 
uatioh, no more then we doe of their feete, we may 
truly affirme, to haue bene the firfl deuifers thereof 
our femes, as avrodtdaxrot, and not to haue borrowed 
it of any other by learning or imitation, and thereby 
trufting to be holden the more excufable if any thing in 
this our labours happen either to millike, or to come 
fhort of th'authors purpofe, becaufe commonly the firfl 
attempt in any arte or engine artificiall is amendable, 
and in time by often experiences reformed. And fono 
doubt may this deuife of ours be, by others that ihall 
take the penne in hand after vs. 

CHAP. XXXI. 

Who in any age haue bene the moft commended writers 

in our EngHJh Poefte, and the \Authors 

cenfure giuen vpon them. 

|T appeareth by fundry records of bookes 
both printed and written, that many of 
our countreymen haue painfully trauelled 
in this part : of whofe works fome appeare 
to be but bare tranflations, other fome 
matters of their owne inuention and very commend- 
able, whereof fome recitall Ihall be made in this place, 
to th'intent chiefly that their names mould not be de- 
frauded of fuch honour as feemeth due to them for 
hauing by their thankefull ftudies fo much beautified 
our Englifh tong, as at this day it will be found our 
nation is in nothing inferiour to the French or Italian 
for copie of language, fubtiltie of deuice, good method 
and proportion in any forme of poeme, but that they 
may compare with the moft, and perchance paffe a 
great many of them. And I will not reach aboue the ' 




74 OFPOETS 

time of king Edward the third, and Richard 'the fecond 
for any that wrote in Englifh meeter : becaufe before 
their times by reafon of the late Normane conqueft, 
which had brought into this Realme much alteration 
both of our langage and lawes, and there withall a 
certain martiall barbaroufnes, whereby the ftudy of all 
good learning was fo much decayd, as long time after 
no man or very few; en tended to write in any laudable 
fcience : fo as beyond that time there is litle or nothing 
worth commendation to be founde written in this arte. 

' And thofe of the firft age were Chaucer and Gower both 
of them as I fuppofe Knightes. After whom followed 

* John Lydgate the monke of Bury, and that nameles, who 
wrote the Satyre called Piers Plowman, next him fol- 

- lowed Harding the Chronicler, then in king He?iry th' 
eight times Ske.lton, (I wot not for what great worthines) 
furnamed the Poet Laureat. In the latter end of the 
fame kings raigne fprong vp a new company of courtly 
makers, of whom Sir Thomas Wyat th'elder and Henry 
Earle of Surrey were the two chieftaines, who hauing 
trauailed into Italie, and there tailed the fweete and 
flately meafures andftile of the Italian Poefie as nouices 
newly crept out of the fchooles of Dante Ariofte and 
Petrarch, they greatly pollifhed our rude and homely 
rrianer of vulgar Poefie, from that it had bene before, 
and for that caufe may iuflly be fayd the firft reformers 
of our Englifh meetre and flile. In the fame time or 
not long after\was the Lord Nicholas Vaux, a man of 
much facilitie in vulgar makings. Afterward in king 
Edward the fixths time came to be in reputation for 

- the fame facultie Thomas Sternehold, who firft tranflated 

- into Englifh certaine Pfalmes of Dauid, and John Hoy- 
wood the Epigrammatift who for the myrth and quick- 
neffe of his conceits more then for any good learning 
was in him came to be well benefited by the king. 
But the principall man in this profeffion at the fame 
time was Maifler Edward Ferrys a man of no leffe 
mirth and felicitie that way, but of much more skil, 
and magnificence in his meeter, and therefore wrate 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 75 

for the moil part to the flage, in Tragedie and fome- 
times in Comedie or Enterlude, wherein he gaue the 
king fo much good recreation, as he had thereby many 
good rewardes. In Queenes Maries time florifhed 
aboue any other IDoclour Phaer one that was well - 
learned and excellently well tranflated into . Engliih 
verfe Heroicall certaine bookes of Virgils Alneidos. 
Since him followed Maifter Arthure Go/ding, who with 
no leffe commendation turned into Englifh meetre the 
Metamorphofis of Ouide, and that other Doctour, who 
made the fupplement to thofe bookes of Virgils SEnei- 
dos, which Maifter Phaer left vndone. And in her 
Maiefties time that now is are fprong vp an other crew 
of Courtly makers Noble men and Gentlemen of her 
Maiefties owne feruanntes, who haue written excellently 
well as it would appeare if their doings could be found 
out and made publicke with the reft, of which number 
is firfl that noble Gentleman Edward Earle of Oxford. 
Thomas Lord of Bukhurfl, when he was young, Henry ~ - 
Lord Paget, Sir Philip Sydney, Sir Walter PawTetgh, - - 
Mailer TZdwurd Dyar, Maifter Fulke Greuell, Gafcon, - - 
Britton, Turberuille and a great many other learned — 
Gentlemen, whofe names I do not omit for enuie, but 
to auoyde tedioufneffe, and who haue deferued no 
little commendation. But of them all [particularly this 
is myne opinion, that Chaucer, with Gozcer, Lidgat and - - 
Harding for their antiquitie ought to haue the firfl - 
place, and Chaucer as the moll renowmed of them all, - 
for the much learning appeareth' to be in him aboue 
any of the reft. And though many of his bookes be 
but bare tranflations out of the Latin and French, yet 
are they wel handled, as his bookes of Troilus and 
Creffeid, and the Roman t of the Rofe, whereof he tran- 
flated but one halfe, the deuice was Iohn de Mehunes 
a French Poet, the Canterbury tales were Chancers 
owne inuention as I fuppofe, and where he fheweth 
more the naturall of his pleafant wit, then in any other 
of his workes, his fimilitudes comparifons and all other 
defcriptions are fuch as can not be amended. His 



76 OFPOETS 

meetre Heroicall of Troilus and Creffeid is very graue 
and flately, keeping the flaffe of feu en, and. the verfe 
of ten, his other verfes of the Canterbury tales be but 
riding ryme, neuertheleffe very well becomming the 
matter of that pleafaunt pilgrimage in which euery 
mans part is playd with much decency. Gower fau- 
ing for his go"od and graue moralities, had nothing in 
him highly to be commended, for his verfe was homely 
and without good meafure, his wordes ftrained much 
deale out of the French writers, his ryme wrefted, and 
in his indentions fmall fubtillitie : the applications of 
his moralities are the b eft in him, and yet thofe many 
times very groffely beftowed, neither c\oth the fubflance 
of his workes fufficiently aunfwere the fubtilitie of his 

* titles. Lydgat a tranflatour onely and no deuifer of 
that which he wrate, but one that wrate in good verfe. 

- Harding a Poet Epick or Hiftoricall, handled himfelfe 
well according to the time and maner of his fubiect. 
He that wrote the Satyr of Piers Ploughman, feemed to 
haue bene a malcontent of that time, and therefore bent 
himfelfe wholy to taxe the diforders of that age, and 
fpecially the pride of the Romane Clergy, of whofe fall 
he feemeth to be a very true Prophet, his verfe is but 
loofe meetre, and his termes hard and obfcure, fo 
as in them is litre pleafure to be taken. Skelton a 
iharpe Satirift, but with more rayling and fcoffery then 
became a Poet Lawreat, fuch among the Greekes were 
called Pantomimi, with vs Buffons, altogether applying 
their wits to Scurrillities and other ridiculous matters. 
Henry Earle of Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyat, betweene 
whom I fmde very litle difference, I repute them (as 
before) for the two chief lanternes of light to all others 
that haue fmce employed their gennes vpon Englifh 
Poefie, their conceits were loftie, their ITiles ftately, 
their conueyance cleanely, their termes proper, their 
meetre fweete and well proportioned, in all, imitating 
very naturally and ftudioufly their Maifter F?-ancis Pe- 
trarcha. The Lord Vaux his commendation lyeth 
chiefly in the facillitie of his meetre, and the aptneffe 



AND POESIE. LIB. I. 77 

of his defcriptions fuch as he taketh vpon him to make, 
namely in fundry of his Songs, wherein he fheweth the 
counterfait action very liuely and pleafantly. Of the 
latter fort I thinke thus. That for Tragedie, the Lord of 
Buckhuril, and Maiiler Edward Ferrys for fuch doings • 
as I haue fene of theirs do deferue the hyeft price : 
Th'Earle of Oxford and Maifter Edward es of her 
Maiefties Chappell for Comedy and Enterlude . For 
Eglogue and paflorall Poefie, Sir Philip Sydney and « 
Maifter Challeiiner, and that other Gentleman who - 
wrate the late fhepheardes Callender. For dittie and 
amourous Ode I finde Sir Walter Rawleyghs vayne moil ■ 
loftie, infolent, and paffionate. Maiiler Edivard Dyar, 
for Elegie moil fweete, folempne and of high conceit. 
Gafcou for a good meeter and for a plentifull vayne. 
Phaer and Golding for a learned and well corrected - 
verfe, fpecially in tranilation cleare and very faithfully 
anfwering their authours intent. Others haue alfo 
written with much facillitie, but more commendably 
perchance if they had not written fo much nor fo 
popularly. But lail in recital 1 and firil in degree is the 
Queene our foueraigne Lady, whofe learned, delicate, 
noble Mufe, eafily furmounteth all the reft that haue 
written before her time or iince, for fence, fweetneffe 
and fubtillitie, be it in Ode, Elegie, Epigram, or any 
other kinde of poeme Heroick or Lyricke, wherein it 
fhall pleafe her Maieilie to employ her penne, euen by 
as much oddes as her owne excellent eilate and degree 
exceedeth all the reft of her moil humble vaffalls. 





THE SECOND BOOKE, 



OF PROPORTION POETICAL, 




CHAP. L 

Of Proportion Poeticall. 

T is faid by fuch as prpfeffe the 
Mathematicall fciences, that all 
things fland by proportion, and 
that without it nothing could Hand 
to be good or beautiful. The 
Doctors of our Theologie to the 
fame effect, but in other termes, 
fay : that God made the world by 
number, meafure and weight : fome for weight fay 
tune, and peraduenture better. For weight is a kind 
of meafure or of much conueniencie with it : and there- 
fore in their defcriptions be alwayes coupled together 
( ftatica et metrica) weight and meafures. Hereupon 
it feemeth the Philofopher gathers a triple proportion, 
to wit, the Arithmeticall, the Geometricall, and the 
Muficall. And by one of thefe three is euery other 
proportion guided of the things that haue conueniencie 
by relation, as the vifible by light colour and fhadow : 
the audible by ftirres, times and accents : the pdorable 
by fmelles of fundry temperaments : the taftible by 
fauours to the rate : the tangible by his obiectes in this 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 79 

or that regard. Of all which we leaue to fpeake, 
returning to our poeticall proportion, which holdeth 
of the Mufical, becaufe as we fayd before Poefie is a 
skill to fpeake and write harmonically: and verfes or 
rime be a kind of MuficafT vtterance, by reafon of a 
certaine congruitie in founds pleafmg the eare, though 
not perchance fo exquifitely as the harmonica!! con- 
cents of the artificial Muficke, confifling in flrained 
tunes, as is the vocall Mufike, or that of melodious in- 
ftruments, as Lutes, Harpes, Regals, Records and fuch 
like. And this our proportion Poeticall refleth in fiue 
points : Stage, Meafure, Concord, Scituation and figure 
all which mail be fpoken of in their places. 

CHAP. II 

Of firoportiofi in Staffe. 

ITaffe in our vulgar e Poefie I know not why 
it mould be fo called, vnleffe it be for that 
we vnderfland it for a bearer or fupporter 
of a fong or ballad, not vnlike the old 
weake bodie, that is flayed vp by his ftaffe, 
and were not otherwife able to walke or to (land vp- 
right. The Italian called it Stanza, as if we mould 
fay a refting place : and if we confider well the forme 
of this Poeticall ftaffe, we mail finde it to be a certaine 
number of verfes allowed to go altogether and ioyne 
without any intermiflion, and doe or mould fmifh vp 
all the fentences of the fame with a full period, vnleffe 
it be in fom fpecial cafes, and there to flay till 
another ftaffe follow of like fort : and the fhorteft 
ftaffe conteineth not vnder foure verfes, nor the long- 
ed aboue ten, if it paffe that number it is rather a 
whole ditty then properly a^ftaffe. Alfo for the more 
part the flaues fland rather vpon the euen nomber of 
verfes then the odde, though there be of both forts. 
The firft proportion then of a ftaffe is by quadrien or 
foure verfes. The fecond of hue verfes, and is feldome 
vfed. The third by fizeine or fixe verfes, and is not 
only moil vfual, but alfo very pleafant to th'eare. 




80 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

The fourth is in feuen verfes, and is the chiefe of our 
ancient proportions vfed by any rimer writing any thing 
of hiftorical or graue poeme, as ye may fee in Chancer 
and Lidgate th'one writing the loues of Tray his and 
Creffeida, th' other of the fall of Princes : both by them 
tranilated not deuifed. The firft [fifth?] proportion is of 
eight verfes very ftately and Heroicke, and which I like 
better then that of feuen, becaufe it receaueth better 
band. The fixt is of nine verfes, rare but very graue. 
The feuenth proportion is of tenne verfes, very ftately, 
but in many mens opinion too long : neuertheleffe of 
very good grace and much grauitie. Of eleuen and 
twelue I find none ordinary ftaues vfed in any vulgar 
language, neither doth it feme well to continue any 
hiftoricall report and ballade, or other fong : but is 
a dittie of it felf, and no flaffe, yet fome moderne writers 
haue vfed it but very feldome. Then laft of all haue 
ye a proportion to be vfed in the number of your ftaues, 
as to a caroll and a ballade, to a fong, and a round, or 
virelay. For to an hiftoricall poeme no certain num- 
ber is limited, but as the matter fals out : alfo a diftick 
or couple of verfes is not to be accompted a flaffe, but 
femes for a continuance as we fee in Elegie, Epitaph, 
Epigramme or fuch meetres, of plaine concord not har- 
monically entertangled, as fome other fongs of more 
delicate mufick be. 

A ftarTe of foure verfes containeth in it felfe matter 
fufficient to make a full periode or complement of 
fence, though it doe not always fo, and therefore may 
go by diuifions. 

A flaffe of fiue verfes, is not much vfed becaufe he 
that can not comprehend his periode in foure verfes, 
will rather driue it into fix then leaue it in fiue, for 
that the euen number is more agreable to the eare 
then the odde is. 

A flaffe of fixe verfes, is very pleafant to the eare, 
and alfo ferueth for a greater complement then the in- 
feriour ftaues, which maketh him more commonly to 
be vfed. 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 81 

A ftaffe of feuen verfes, moft vfuall with our auncient 
makers, alfo the ftaffe of eight, nine and ten of larger 
complement then the reft, are onely vfed by the later 
makers, and vnleffe they go with very good bande, do 
not fo well as the inferiour ftaues. Therefore if ye 
make your ftaffe of eight, by two fowers not enter- 
tangled, it is not a huitaine or a ftaffe of eight, but two 
quadreins, fo is it in ten verfes, not being entertangled 
they be but two ftaues of hue. 

CHAP. III. 

Of proportion in meafure. 

[Eeter and meafure is all one, for what the 
Greekes called fisrgov, the Latines call 
-fur a, and is but the quantitie of a 
verfe, either long or fhort. This quantitie 
with them confifteth in the number of their 
feete : and with vs in the number of fillables, which are 
comprehended in euery verfe, not regarding his feete, 
otherwife then that we allow in fcanning our verfe, two 
fillables to make one fhort portion (fuppofe it a foote) 
in euery verfe. And after that fort ye may fay, we tiaue 
feete in our vulgare rymes, but that is improperly : for a 
foote by his fence naturall is a member of office and 
function, and ferueth to three purpofes, that is to fay, 
to go. to runne, and to ftand ftift : fo as he muft be 
fometimes fwift, fometimes flow, fometime vnegally 
marching or peraduenture fteddy. And if our feete 
Poeticall want thefe qualities it can not be fayd a foote 
in fence tranflatiue as here. And this commeth to 
paffe, by reafon of the euident motion and ftirre, which 
is perceiued in the founding of our wordes not alwayes 
egall : for fome aske longer, fome fhorter time to be 
vttered in, and fo by the Philofophers definition, ftirre 
is the true meafure of time. The Greekes and Latines 
becaufe their wordes hapned to be of many fillables, and 
very few of one finable, it fell out right with them to 
conceiue and alfo to perceiue, a notable diuerfitie of 
motion and times in the pronuntiation of their wordes, 

F 



82 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

and therefore to euery biffillable they allowed two times, 
and to a tr iffillabl e three times, and to euery polifillable 
more, according to his quantitie, and their times were 
fome long, fome Ihort according as their motions were 
flow or fwift. For the found of fome tillable flayd the 
eare a great while, and others Aid away fo quickly, as 
if they had not bene pronounced, then euery tillable 
being allowed one time, either fhort or long, it fell out 
that euery tretrafillable had foure times, euery triffillable 
three, and the biffillable two, by which obferuat.ion 
euery word, not vnder that fife, as he ranne or flood in 
a verfe, was called by them a foote of fuch and fo many 
times, namely the biffillable was either of two long 
times as the fpondeus, or two fhort, as the pirchius, or 
of a long and a Ihort as the trocheus, or of a fhort and 
a long as the iambus : the like rule did they let vpon 
the word triffillable, calling him a foote of three times : 
as the daclilits of a long and two fhort : the molloffus 
of three long, the tribracchus of three fhort, the amphi- 
bracchus of two long and a fhort, the amphimacer of two 
fhort and a long. The word of foure tillables they 
called a foote of foure times, fome or all of them, either 
long or fhort : and yet rfot fo content they mounted 
higher, and becaufe their wordes ferued well thereto, 
they made feete of fixe times : but this proceeded more 
of curiotitie, then otherwife : for whatfoeuer foote paffe 
the triffillable is compounded of his inferiour as euery 
number Arithmeticall aboue three, is compounded of 
the inferiour number as twife two make foure, but the 
three is made of one number, videl. of two and an 
vnitie. Now becaufe our naturall and primitiue lan- 
guage of the Saxon EngliJJi, beares not any wordes (at 
leaft very few) of moe tillables then one (for whatfoeuer 
we fee exceede, commeth to vs by the alterations of our 
language growen vpon many conqueftes and otherwife) 
there could be no fuch obferuation of times in the found 
of our wordes, and for that caufe we could not haue the 
feete which the Greeks and Latines haue in their 
meetres : but of this ftirre and motion of their deuifed 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. S3 

feete, nothing can better fljgw the qualitie then thefe 
runners at common games, who fetting forth from the 
firft goale, one giueth the flart fpeedely and perhaps 
before he come half way to th' other goale, decayeth 
his pace, as a man weary and fainting : another is flow 
at the flart, but by amending his pace keepes euen with 
his fellow or perchance gets before him : another one 
while gets ground, another while lofeth it again, either 
in the beginning, or middle of his race, and fo proceedes 
vnegally fometimes fwift fomtimes flow as his breath 
or forces feme him : another fort there be that plod on, 
and will neuer change their pace, whether they win or 
lofe the game : in this maner doth the Greeke daftilus 
begin flowly and keepe on fwift er till th'end, for his 
race being deuided into three parts, he fpends one, and 
that is the firft flowly, the other twain e fwiftly : the 
anapejlus his two firfl parts fwiftly, his laft flowly : the 
~Moioffus fpends all three parts of his race flowly and 
egally. Bacchius his firfl part fwiftly, and two laft parts 
flowly. The tribrachus ail his three parts fwiftly : the 
antibacchius his two firft partes flowly, his laft and third 
fwiftly : the amphimacer, his firft and laft part flowly 
and his middle part fwiftly : the amphibracus his firfl 
and laft parts fwiftly but his midle part flowly, and fo 
of others by like proportion. This was a pretie phan- 
taflicall obferuation of them, and yet brought their 
meetres to haue a maruelous good grace, which was in 
Greeke called gvfaog: whence we hauederiued this word 
ryme, but improperly and not wel becaufe we haue no 
men feete or times or ftirres in our meeters, by whofe 
fim patTiTe , or pleafant conueniencie with th'eare, we 
could take any delight : this rithmus of theirs, is not 
therfore our rime, but a certaine muficall numerofitie in 
vtterance, and not a bare number as that of the Arith- 
meticall computation is, which therfore is not called 
rithmus but arithmus. Take this away from them, I 
meane the running of their feete, there is nothing of 
curiofitie among them more then with vs nor yet fo 
much. 




8 4 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

CHAP. III. [IV.] 
How many forts of meafures we vfe i?i our vulg ar. 

|0 retume from rime to our meafure againe, 
it hath bene faycl that according to the 
number of the fillables contained in eueiy 
verfe, the fame is fayd a long or fhort 
meeter, and his fhorteil proportion is of 
foure fillables, and his longeft of twelue,;they that vfe 
it aboue, paffe the bounds of good proportion. And 
euery meeter may be afwel in the odde as in the euen 
tillable,* but better in the euen^ and one verfe may be- 
gin in the euen, and another follow in the odde, and 
fo keepe a commendable proportion. The verfe that 
containeth but two filables, which maybe in one word, 
is not vfuall : therefore many do deny him to be a 
verfe, jfaying that it is but a foot, and that a meeter 
can haue no leffe then two feete at the leaft, but I 
find it otherwise afwell among the beft Italian Poets, 
as alfo with our vulgar makers, and that two fillables 
feme wel for a fhort meafure in the firft place, and 
niidle, and end of a ftaffe : and alfo in diuerfe Situa- 
tions and by fundry diftances, and is very paffionate 
and of good grace, as fhalbe declared more at large 
in the Chapter of proportion by fcituation. 

The next meafure is of two feete or of foure fillables, 
and then one word tet?'afillable diuided in the middeft 
makes vp the whole" meeter, as thus : 

Rate rentlie 
Or a triffillable and one monofillable thus. : Souer- 
aine God, or two biffillables and that is plefant thus,- 
Reflore againe, or with foure monoffillables, and that 
is beft of all thus, When I doe thinke, I finde no fauour 
in a meetre of three fillables nor in effect in any odde, 
but they may be vfed for varietie fake, and fpecially 
being enterlaced with others the meetre of fix fillables 
is very fweete and delicate as thus. 
O God when I behold 
This bright heauen fo hye 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 85 

By thine ovvne hands of old 

Contriudfo cunningly^ 
The meter of feuen fillables is not vfual, no more is 
that of nine and eleuenTjyet if they be well compofed, 
that is, their Cefure well appointed, and their lafl 
accent which makes the concord, they are commendable 
inough, as in this ditty where one verfe is of eight an 
other is of feuen, and in the one the accent vpon the 
lafl, in the other vpon the lafl faue on[e]. 

The fmoakie fghes, the bitter teares 

That I in vaine haue wafted 

The broken fleeces, the woe and feares 

That long in me haue lofted 

Will be my death, \ all by thy guilt 

And not by my deferuing 

Since fo inconflantly thou wilt 

Not loue but ftill be fweruing. 
And all the reafon why thefe meeters in all fill able 
are alowable is, for that the fharpe accent falles vpon 
the penultima or lafl faue one fillable of the verfe, 
which doth fo drowne the lafl, as he feemeth to paffe 
away in maner vnpronounced, and fo make the verfe 
feeme euen : but if the accent fall vpon the lafl and 
leaue two flat to fmifh the verfe, it will not feeme fo : 
for the odnes will more notorioufly arjp_eare,( as for ex- 
ample in the lafl verfe before recited Not loue but 
ftill be fzveriting, fay thus Loue it is a maruelous thing. 
Both verfes be of egall quantitie, vidz. feauen fillables 
a peece, and yet the firfl feemes fhorter then the later, 
who fhewes a more odnefle then the former^ by reafon 
of his fharpe accent which is vpon the lafl fillable, and 
makes him more audible then if he had flid away with 
a flat accent, as the word Jweruing . 

Your ordinarie rimers vfe very much their meafures 
in the odde as nine and eleuen, and the fharpe accent 
vpon the lafl fillable, which therefore makes him go 
ill fauouredly and like , a minflrels mufi.cke. Thus 
fayd (one in a meeter of eleuen wery harfhly in mine 
eare, whether it Eefbr lack e of good rime or of good 
reafon, or of both I wot not 



--1 



86 OF PRO PORT I OX. LIB. II. 

Now fucke c hild e and fleece child e* thy mothers owjie ioy 

Her only fweete comfort, to drowne all annoy 

For beauty furpajjing the azured skie 

I lone thee my darling, as ball of mine eye. 

This fort of compofition in the odde I like 
leffe it be holpen by the Cefwe or by the accent as I 
fayd before. 

The meeter of eight is no leffe pleafant then that of 
fixe, and the Cefure fals iuft in the middle, as this of 
the Earle of Surreyes. 

When raging lone, with extreme pay ne. 

The meeter of ten fillables is very ftately and Heroi- 
call, ancl mufl haue his Cefure fall vpon the fourth 
tillable, and leaue fixe behinde him thus. 

I fence at eafe, and go u erne all with woe. 

This meeter of twelue fillables the French man 
calleth a verfe Alexandrine, and is with our modern e 
rimers mofl vfuall : with the auncient makers it was 
not fo. For before Sir Thomas Wiats time they were 
not vfed in our. vulgar, they be for graue and ftately 
matters fitter than for any other ditty of pleafure. 
Some makers write in verfes of foureteene fillables, 
giuing the Cefure at the firft eight, which proportion 
is tedious, for the length of the verfe kepeth the gaze, 
too long from his delight, which is to heare the cadence 
or thejuneable accent in the ende of the verfe. Neuer- 
theleffe that of twelue if his Cefure be iufl in the 
middle, and that ye furTer him to runne at full length, 
and do not as the common rimers do, or their Printer 
for fparing of paper, cut them of in the middeft, 
wherin they make in two verfes but halfe rime. They 
do very wel as wrote the Earle of Surrey tranflating the 
booke of the preacher. 

Salomon Daidds fonne, king of Tent fed an \ 

This verfe is very good Alexandrine, but perchaunce 
woulde haue founded more mutically, if the firft word 
had bene a diffillable, or two monotillables and not a 
triftiliabie : hauing this fharpe accent vppon the Ante- 
pemdtima as it hath, by which occafion it runnes like a 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 87 

Daclill, and carries the two later iilkbles away fo 
fpeedily as it feemes but one foote in our vulgar mea- 
fure, and by that meanes makes the verfe feeme but 
of eleuen fillables, which odneffe is nothing pleafant 
to the eare] Tudgelfome body'^whether it would haue 
done Better (if it might) haue bene fayd thus, 

Robbham Daniels fo?ine king of Ierufalem. 
Letting the iharpe accent fall vpon bo, or thus 

Rejlbre king Daiiids fbnne vntb Ieritfalem 
For now the iharpe accent falles vpon bo, and fo doth 
it vpon the lafl in reflbre, which was not in th'other 
verfe. But becaufe we haue feemed to make mention 
of Qfure , and to appoint his place in euery meafure, 
it mall not be amiffe to fay fomewhat more of it, and 
alfo of fuch paufes as are vfed in vtterance, and what 
commoditie or delectation they bring ■ either to the 
fpeakers or to the hearers. 

CHAP. IIII [V.] 
Of Cefure . 

IHere is no greater difference betwixt a ciuill 
and brutifh vtteraunce then cleare diftinc- 
tion of voices : and the moil laudable lan- 
guages are alwaies moft plaine and dif- 
tincl, and the barbarous moil confufe and 
indiftinct : it is therefore requiht that leafure be taken 
in pronuntiation, fuch as may make our wordes plaine 
and moil audible and agreable to the eare: alfo the 
breath afketh to be now and then releeued with fome 
paufe or ilay more or leffe : befides that the very nature 
of ipeach (becaufe it goeth by claufes of feuerall con- 
ilruclion and fence) requireth fome fpace betwixt them 
with intermifrion of found, to th'end they may not 
huddle one vpon another fo rudly and fo fail that th' 
eare may not perceiue their difference. For thefe re- 
fpe6l es the aimcient refonners of language, inuented, 
three maner of paufes, one of leffe leafure then another, 
and fuch feuerall intermiffions of found to feme (befides 




88 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

eafment to the breath) for a treble diflinclion of fent- 
ences or parts of fp^each, as they happened to be more 
or leffe perfect in fence. The fhorteft paufe or inter- 
miffion they called comma as who would fay a peece of 
a fpeach cut of. The fecond they called co/on,\not a 
peece but as it were a member for his larger length, 
becaufe it occupied twife as much time as the comma. 
The third they called periodus, for a complement or 
full paufe, and as a refting place and perfection of fo 
much former fpeach as had bene vttered, and irom 
whence they needed not to paffe any further vnles it 
were to renew more matter to enlarge the tale. This 
cannot be better reprefented then by example of thefe 
common trauailers by the hie ways, where they feeme 
to allow themfelues three maner of ftaies or eafements : 
one a horfebacke calling perchaunce for a cup of beere 
or wine, and hauing dronken it vp rides away and 
neuer lights :\ about noone he commeth to his Inne, 
and there baites him felfe and hishorfe an h our e or more: 
at night when he can conueniently trauaile* no further, 
he t aketh vp his lodging, and refls him felfe till the 
moiTOw : from whence he fplloweth the courfe of a 
fether voyage, if his bufinejje be fuch. Euen fo our 
Poet when he hath made one verfe, hath as it were 
fmifhed one dayes iourney, and thejvhile eafeth him 
felfe with one baite at the leaft, which is a Comma or 
Cefitre in the mid way. if the verfe be euen and not 
odde, otherwife in fohie other place, and not iufl in the 
middle. If there be no Cefure at^all, and the verfe 
long, the leffe is the makers skill and hearers delight. 
Therefore in a verfe of tweluefillables the Cefure ought 
to fall right vpon the fixt tillable : in a verfe of eleuen 
vpon the fixt alfo leauing hue to follow. In a verfe of 
ten vpon the fourth, leauing fixe to follow. In a verfe 
of nine vpon the fourth, leauing hue to follow. In a 
verfe of eightj iufl in the middefl, that is,. vpon the 
fourth. In a verfe of feauen, either vpon the fourth or 
none at,all, the meeter very ill brooking any paufe. In 
a verfe of fixe fillables and vnder 1 is needefull no Cefure 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 89 

at all, becaufe the breath asketh no reliefe : yet if ye 
giue any Comma, it is to make diflinction of fenfe more 
then for any thing elfe : and fuch Cefwe muft neuer be 
made in the middeil of any word, if it be well appointed. 
So may you fee that the vfe of thefe pawfes or diilinc- 
Hqns is not generally with the vulgar Poet as it is with 
the Profe writer becaufe the Poetes cheife Muficke 
lying in his rime or concorde to heare the Simphonie, 
he maketh aH" the haft he can to be at an end of his 
verfe, and delights not in many ftayes by the way, and 
therefore giueth but one Cefiire to any verfe : and thus 
much for the founding of a meetre. Neuert heleffe he 
may vfe in any verfe both his comma. nd inter- 

rogatiue_ point, as well as in profe. But our auncient 
rymers, as Chaucer, Lydgate and others, | vfed thefe 
Cefures either very feldome, or not at all, or elfe very 
licentioufly, and many times made their meetres (they 
called them riding ryme) of fuch vnfhapely wordes as 
would allow no conuehient Cejjtre, and therefore did 
let their rymes runne out at length, and neuer flayd 
till they came to the end : which maner though it were 
not to be mifliked in fome fort of meetre. yet in eueiy 
long verfe the Cejiire ought to be kept\precife^v^if it 
were but to feme as a law to correct the licentiouf- 
neffe of rymers, befides thaj it pleaieth the eare better, 
and fheweth more cunning in the maker by following 
the rule of his reflraint. For a r} r mer that will be Jyed 
to no rules at ail, but range as he ljjl, may eafily vtter 
what he will : but fuch maner of Poefie is called in our 
vulgar, ryme dogrell, with which rebuke we will in no 
cafe our maker mould be touched. Therfore 'before 
all other things let his ryme and Concordes be true, 
clea re and audible with no leffe delight, then aim oil 
the ftrayned note of a Muficians mouth, and not darke 
or wrenched by wrong writing as many doe to patch 
vp their meetres, and fo follow in their arte neither 
rule, reafon nor ryme. -Much more might be fayd for 
the vfe of your three paufes, coiruna, colon, and pericde, 
for perchance it be not alXAjflatter to vfe many com- 




90 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

mas, and few, J nor colons like wife, \ or long or fhort peri- 
odes, for it is diuerfly vfed, by diuers good writers. But 
becaufe it apperteineth more to the oratour or writer in 
profe then in verfe, I will fay no more in it, then thus, i 
that they be vfed for a commodious and fenfible dif- 
tinclion of claufes in profe, fmce eueiy verfe is as it 
were a claufe of it felfe, and limited with a Cefure 
howfoeuer the fence beare, perfect or imperfect, which 
difference is obfemable betwixt the profe and the 
meeter. 

CHAP. V. [VI.] 
Of Proportion in Concord, called Symphonie or rime . 

lEcaufe we vfe the word rime (though by 
maner of abufion) yet to helpe that fault 
againe we apply it in our vulgar Poefie 
another way very commendably and curi- 
ouily. For wanting the currantneffe of 
the Greeke and Latine feete, in ftead thereof we make 
in th' ends of our verfes a certaine tunable found : 
which anon after with another verfe reafonably diftant 
we accord together in the laft fall or cadence : the 
eare taking pleafure to heare the like tune reported, 
and to feele his returne. And for this purpofe feme 
the monofdlables of our Englifh Saxons excellently well, 
becaufe they do naturally and indifferently receiue any 
accent, and in them if they fmifh the verfe, refteth the 
thrill accent of neceffitie, and fo doth it not in the laft 
of euery bijjillable, nor of euery polifdlable word : but 
to the purpofe, ryme is a borrowed word from the 
Greeks by the Latines and French, | from them by vs 
Saxon angles, and by abufion as hath bene fayd, and 
therefore it fhall not do amiffe to tell what this rithmos 
was with the Greekes, for what is it with vs hath bene 
alreadyfayd. There is an accomptable number which we 
call arithmeticall ( arithmos ) as one, two, three. There is 
alfo a muficall or audible number, fafhioned by ftirrin g 
of tunes and their fundry times in the vtterance of our 
wordes, as when the voice goeth high or low, or fharpe or 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 91 

flat, or fwift or flow : and this is called rithmos or 
numerpfitie, that is to fay, a certain e flowing ytteraunce 

ilipper words and fillables, fucfi as the toung eaiily 
vtters, and the eare with pleafure receiueth, and which 
flowing of wordes with much volubilitie fmoothly pro- 
ceeding from the mouth is in fome fort harmonicall and 
breedeth to th'eare a great compaffion. This point 

v by the fmooth and delicate running of their 
feete, which we haue not in our vulgare, though we vfe 
a"s much as may be the moft flowing words and flippery 
fiUables, that we can picke out : yet do not we call 
that by the name of ryme , as the Greekes did: but do 
giue the name of ryme onely to our Concordes, or 
[able confentes in the latter end of our verfes, and 
which Concordes the Greekes nor Latines neuer vfed 
in their Poefie till by the barbarous fouldier s out of the 
campe, it was brought into the Court and thence to the 
fchoole, as hath bene before remembred : and yet the 
Greekes and Latines both vfed a maner of fpeach, by 
claufesof like termination, which they called opoioreXsuTov, 
and was the neareil that they approched to our ryme : 
but is not our right concord : fo as we in abufmg 
this terme {ryme) be neuertheleffe excufable applying 
it to another point in Poefie no leffe curious then their 
:r numeroiitie which in cleede palled the whole 
verfe throughout, whereas our Concordes keepe but the 
latter end of euery verfe, or perchaunce the middle 
and the end in meetres that be long. 



x a' 



CHAP. VI. [VII.] 
Of accent, time an d llir fierceiue d evidently in the 

distinction of mans voice, and which makes 
the flowing of a meeter. 
[Owe becaufe we haue fpoken of accent, 
time and ftirre or motion in wordes , we 
willfet you downe more at large what they 
be. The auncient Greekes and Latines 
by reafon their fpeech fell out originally 
to be fafhioned with words of many fillables for the 




92 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

moil part, it was of neceffity that they could not vtter 
euery Tillable with one like and egall founde, nor in like 
fpace of time, nor with like motion or agility: but that 
one muft be more fuddenly and quickely forfaken, or 
longer pawfed vpon then another : or founded with a 
higher note and clearer voyce then another, and of 
neceffitie this diuerfitie of found, muft fall either vpon 
the laft tillable, or vpon the laft faue one, or vpon the 
third 'land could not reach higher to make any notable 
difference, it caufed them to giue vnto three different 
founds, three ieuerall names :|to that which was high eft 
lift vp and moft eleuate or fhrilleft in the eare, they 
gaue the name of the fharpe accent, to the loweft and 
moil bafe becaufe it feemed to fall downe rather then 
to rife vp, they gaue the name of the heauy accent, 
and that other which feemed in part to lift vp and in 
part to fall downe, they called the circumflex, or corn- 
pail accent : and if new termes were not odious, Ave 
might very properly call him the (windabout) for fo is 
the Greek word. Then bycauie euery thing that by 
nature fals down is faid. heauy, and whatfoeuer natur- 
ally mounts vpwarol'is faid light, it gaue occafion to 
fay that there were diuerfities in the motion of the 
voice, as fwift and flow, which motion alfo prefuppofes 
time, bycaufe time is menfura motus, by the Philofo- 
pher : fo haue you the caufes of their primitiue inuen- 
tion and vfe in our arte of Poefie, all this by good ob- 
feruation we may perceiue in our vulgar wordes if they 
be of mo tillables then one, but fpecially if they be 
trijjillables, as for example in thefe wordes [altitude] and 
[ heauineff e] the fharpe accent falles vpon [at] and [he] 
which be the antefienultimaes : the other two fall away 
fpeedily as if they were fcarfe founded in this trijfdable 
[forfakeri] the fharp accent fals vpon [fa] which is the 
pemdtima, and in the other two is heauie and obfcure. 
Again e in thefe biffdlables, endiire, vnfure, demure: af 
pire, defire, retire, your fharpe accent fall.es vpon the 
lafl fillable : but in words monqfillable which be for the 
more part our naturall Saxon Englifh, the accent is in- 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 93 

different, and may be vfed for fharp or flat and heauy 
at our pleafure. I fay Saxon Englifh, for our Normane 
Englifh alloweth vs very many bijjillables, and alfo 
triflil lables as, reiterence, diligence, amorous, defirous, and 
fuch like. 

CHAP. VII. [VIII] 

Of your Cadences by which your meeter is made Sym- 

phonicail when they be fweetejl and mojl 

folemjje in a verfe. 

IS the fmoothneffe of your words and fillables 
running vpon feete of fundrie quantities, 
make with the Greekes and Latines the 
body of their veitTes numerous or Rithmi- 
call, fo in our vulgar Poefie, and of all 
other nations at this day, your verfes anfwering eche 
other by couples, or at larger diftances in good [cad- 
ence] is it that maketh your meeter fymphonicall. This 
cadence is the fal of a verfe in euery laft word with a 
certaine tunable found which being matched with an- 
other of like found, do make a [concord.] And the 
whole cadence is contained fometime in one fillable, 
fometime in two, or in three at the moft : for aboue 
the antepenidtima there reacheth no accent (which is 
chiefe caufe of the cadence) ynleffe it be by vfurpation 
in fome Englifh words, to which we giue a fharpe accent 
vpon the fourth as, Honorable, mdtrimonie, pati'imonie, 
miferable, and fuch other as would neither make a 
fweete cadence, nor eafily find any word of like quan- 
tise to match them. And the accented tillable with 
all the reft vnder him make the cadence, and no tillable 
aboue, as in thefe words, Agillilie, facillitie, fubieclio7i, 
direclio?i, and thefe bifhlables, Tender, /lender, tricftie, 
iujiie, but alwayes the cadence which falleth'vpon the 
laft fillable of a verfe is fweeteft and moft commendable : 
that vpon the permltima more light, and not fo pleafant : 
but falling vpon the antepenultima is moft vnpleafant 
of all, becaufe they make your meeter too light and 
triuiall, and are fitter for the Epigrammatift or Comicall 



94 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Poet then for the Lyrkxk and Elegiack, which are ac- 
compted the fweeter Mutickes. But though we haue 
fayd that (to make good concord) your feuerall verfes 
fhould haue their cadences like, yet mull there be fome 
difference in their orthographie, though not in their 
found, as if one cadence be [conflraine] the next [re- 
flraine\ or one \_ajpire\ another \rejpire\ this maketh no 
good concord, becaufe they are all one, but if ye will 
exchange both thefe confonants of the accented tillable, 
or voyde but one of them away, then will your cadences 
be good and your concord to, as to fay, r eflrqin e* re- 
fraine, remaine : afpire, defire, retire : which rule neuer- 
tjieleffe is not well obferued by many makers for Jacke 
of good iudgement and delicate eare. And this may 
fuffife to {hew the vfe and nature of your cadences, 
which are in effect all the fweetnefTe and cunning in 
our vulgar Poetie. 

CHAP. VIII. [IX.] 

How the good maker will not wrench his word to helpe 

his rime, either by falfifying his accent, or by vntrue 

orthographie. 

jj"0 w there can not be in a maker a fowler 
fault, then to faltitie his accent to ferue his 
cadence, or by vntrue orthographie to 
wrench his words to helpe his rime, for it 
is a tigne that fuch a maker is not copious 
in his owne language, or (as they are wont to fay) not 
halfe his crafts maifler: as for example, if one fhould 
rime to this word \_ReJiore\ he may not match him with 
[Doore] or \Poore\ for neither of both are of like ter- 
minant, either by good orthography or in naturall 
found, therfore fuch rime is {trained, fo is it to this 
word \_Rani\ to fay \came\ or to \Beane\ \Deii\ for they 
found not nor be written a like, and many other like 
cadences which were fuperfluous to recite, and are 
vfuall with rude rimers who obferue not precifely the 
rules of \profodie~\ neuertheleffe in all fuch cafes (if 
neceftitie cdnflrained) it is fomewhat more tollerable 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. IT. 95 

to help the rime by falfe orthographie, then to leaue 
an vnplefant difibnance to the eare, by keeping trewe 
orthographie and loofmg the rime, asfor. example it is 
better to rime [Dare] with [Reftore] then in his truer 
orthographie. which is [Doore] and to this word [De- 
fire] to fay [JFief\ then fvre though it be otherwife better 
written jyx* For fince the cheife grace of our vulgar 
Poeiie confifleth in theSymphonie, as hath bene already 
fayd, our maker munTnot be too licentious in his con- 
cords, but fee that they go euen, iuft and melodious in 
tn"e~ eare, and right fo in the numerofitie or currant- 
neffe of the whole body of his verfe, and in euery other 
of his proportions. For a_ licentious maker is in truth 
but a bunder and not a Poet. Such men were in effect 
the moil part of all your old rimers and fpecially Gower, 
who to make vp his rime would for the moft part write 
his terminant tillable with falfe orthographie, and many 
times not fticke to put in a plaine French word for an 
Englifh, and fo by your leaue do many of our common 
rimers at this day: as he that by all likelyhood, hauing 
no word at hand to rime to this word [ioy\ he made his 
other verfe ende in [-Roy] faying very impudently thus, 
O niighjfijTLord of ' loue, dame Venus onely toy 
Who art the higheft God of any heauenly Roy. 
Which word was neuer yet receiued in our language 
for an Englifh word. Such extreme licentioufneffe is 
vtterly to be banimed from our fchoole, and better it 
might haue bene borne with in old riming writers, by- 
caufe they liued in a barbarous age, and were graue 
morall_men but very homely Poets, fuch alfo as made 
moTTof their workes by tranflation out of the Latine 
and French toung.and few or none of tlieir_g\vne eiigine 
as may eafely be knowen to them that lilt to looke vp- 
011 the Poemes of both languages. 

Finally as ye may ryme with wordes of all fortes, be 
they of many hjlables or few, fo neuertheleffe is there a 
choife by which to make your cadence (before remem- 
bred) mofl commendable, for fome wordes of exceed- 
ing great length, which haue bene fetched from the 



M 




96 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Latine inkhorne or borrowed of flrangers, the vfe of 
them in ryme Is nothing pleafant, failing perchaunce to 
the common people, who reioyfe much to be at playes 
and enterludes, and befides their naturall ignoraunce, 
haue at all fuch times their eares fo attentiue to the 
matter, and their eyes vpon the fhewes of the ftage, 
that they take little heede to the cunning of the rime, 
and therefore be as well fatisned with that which is 
groffe, as with any other finer and more delicate. 



CHAP. IX. [X.] 

Of concordc in long and Jhort meafures^ and by neare or 
farredijiawices, and which of them is mojl commendable. 

I Vt this ye muft obferue withall, that bycaufe 
your Concordes containe the chief part of 
Muficke in your meetre, their diilaunces 
may not be too wide or farre a hinder, left 
th'eare mould Ipofe the tune, and be de- 
frauded of his delight, and whenfoeuer ye fee any maker 
vfe large and extraordinary diilaunces, ye muft thinke 
he doth intende to fhew himfelfe more artificiall then 
popular, and yet therein is not ^to be difcommended, 
for refpecls that fhalbe remembred in fome other place 
of this booke. 

Note alfo that rime or concorde is not commendably 
vfed both in the end and middle of a verfe, vnleffe it 
be in toyes and trifling Poefies, for it flieweth a certaine 
lightneffe either of the matter or of the makers head, 
albeit thefe common rimers vfe it much, for as I fayd 
before, like as the Symphonie in a verfe of great length, 
is (as it were) loft by looking after him, and yet may 
the meetre be very graue and ftately : fo on the other 
fide doth the ouer bufie and too fpeedy return e of one 
maner of tune, too much annoy and as it were glut the 
eare, vnleffe it be in fmall and popular Mufickes fong 
by thefe Cantabanqui vpon benches and barrels heads 
where they haue none other audience then boys or 
countrey fellowes that paffe by them in the ftreete, or 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 97 

elfe by blind harpers or fuch like tauerne minftrels that 
giue a fit of mirth for a groat, and their matters being 
for the mofl part flories of old time, as the tale of Sir 
Topas, the reporters of Beuis of Southampton, Guy of 
Warwicke^ Adam Bell, and Clymme of the Clough and 
fuch other old Romances or hifloricall rimes, made 
purpofely for recreation of the common people at 
Chriflniaffe diners and brideales, and in tauernes and 
alehoufes and fuch other places of bafe refort, alfo they 
be vfed in Carols and rounds and fuch light or lafciui- 
ous Poemes, which are commonly more commodioufly 
vttered by thefe buffons or vices in playes then by any 
other perfon. Such were the rimes of Skelton (vfurping 
the name of a Poet Laureat) being in deede but a rude 
rayling rimer and all his doings ridiculous, he vfed both 
fhort diflaunces and" fhort meafures pleafmg onely the 
popular eare: in our courtly maker we banlfh them 
vtterly. Now alfo haue ye in euery fong or ditty Con- 
corde by compaffe and concorde entertangled and a 
mixt of both, what that is and how they be vfed fhalbe 
declared in the chapter of proportion by fa 'tuation. 

CHAP. X. [XI.] 
Of proportion by f it u at ion. 

His proportion confifleth in placing of euery 
verfe in a ftaffe or ditty by fuch reafonable 
diilaunces, as may bell feme the eare for 
delight, and alfo to mew the Poets art and 
variety of Mufick , and the proportion is 
double. One by marfhalling the meetres, and limiting 
their diilaunces hauing regard to the rime or concorde 
how they go and returne : another by placing euery 
verfe, hauing a regard to his meafure and quantitie 
onely. and not to his concorde as to fet one fhort 
meetre to three long, or foure fhort and two long, or a 
fhort meafure and a long, or of diuers lengthes with 
relation one to another, which maner of Situation, euen 
without refpecl of the rime, doth alter the nature of 

G 




98 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

the Poefie, and make it either lighter or grauer, or 
more merry, or mournfull, and many wayes paffionate 
to the eare and hart of the hearer, feeming for this 
point that our maker by his meafures and Concordes 
of fundry proportions doth counterfait the harmonicall 
tunes of the vocall and inflrum entail Mufi ckes . As 
the Dorien becaufe his falls, fallyes and compaffe be 
diuers from thofe of the Phrigien, the Phrigien likewife 
from the Lydien, and all three from the Eolien, Mioli- 
dien and Ionien, mounting and falling from note to 
note fuch as be to them peculiar, and with more or 
leffe leafure or precipation. Euen fo by diuerfitie of 
placing and fcituation of your meafures and concords, 
a fhort with a long, and by narrow or wide diftances, or 
thicker or thinner beftowing of them your proportions 
differ, and breedeth a variable and ftrange harmonie 
not onely in the eare, but alfo in the conceit of them 
thatheare it : whereof this may be an ocular example. 



fcituation in 
(Concord Meafure 



Where ye fee the concord or rime in the third dif- 
tance, and the meafure in the fourth, fixth or fecond 
diftaunces, whereof ye may deuife as many other as ye. 
lift, fo the ftaffe be able to beare it. And I fet you 
downe an occular example : becaufe ye may the 
better conceiue it. Likewife it fo falleth out moft 
times your occular proportion doeth declare the nature 
of the audible : for if it pleafe the eare well, the fame 
reprefented by delineation to the view pleafeth the eye 
well and e cornier fo : and this is by a naturall funpathie, 
betweene the eare and the eye, and betweene tunes 
and colours, euen as there is the like betweene the 
other fences and their obiecls of which it apperteineth 
not here to fpeake. Now for the diftances vfually 
fboerued in our vulgar Poefie, they be in the firft fecond 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 99 

third and fourth verfe, or if the verfe be very fhort in 
the fift and fixt and in fome maner of Mufickes farre 
aboue. 

And the firft diftance for the mofl part goeth all by 
diftick or couples of verfes agreeing in one cadence, and 
do paffe fo fpeedily away and fo often returne agayne, 
as their tunes are neuer loft, nor out of the eare, one 
couple fupplying another fo nye and fo fuddenly, and 
this is the mofl vulgar proportion of diftance 

or fituation, fuch asvfed Chaucer in his Can- * ^ 

terbury tales, and Goyver in all his workes . ~ _^ j 

Second diftance is, when ye paffe ouer one verfe,and 

joyne the firft and the third, and fo continue ' 

on till an other like diftance fall in, and this "* 
is alfo vfuall and common, as — w- 

Thir d dift aunce is, when your rime falleth vpon the 

firft and fourth verfe ouerieaping two, this 

ier is not fo common but pleafant and j • 

allowable inough . ' 

In which cafe the two verfes ye leaue out are ready 
to receiue their Concordes by the fame diftaunce or any x 
other ye like better. The fourth diftaunce is by ouer- 
skipping three verfes and lighting vpon the fift, this 
maner is rare and more artificial], then popular, vnleffe 

it be in fome fpeciall cafe, as when 

the meetres be fo little and fhort -^ 

as they make no fliew of any great ^ J 

delay before they returne, ye fhall S ZZZ 

haue example of both. 

And thefe ten Htle meeters make but one Exameter 
at length. 



There be larger diftances alfo, as when 
the firft concord falleth vpon the fixt verfe, 
and is very pleafant if they be ioynedwith 
other diftances not fo large, as 



m 

There be alfo, of the feuenth, eight, tenth, and 
twe[l]ftb diftance, but then they may not go thicke, 
but two or three fuch diftances feme to proportion a 




ioo OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

whole fong, and all betweene 
muft be of other lege diftances, 
and thefe wide diilaunces feme 
for coupling of ftaues, or for 
to declare high and paffionate 
or graue matter, and alfo for 
art : Petrarch hath giuen vs 
examples hereof in his Can- 
zonij and we by lines" of fun- 
dry lengths and diftances as fbl- 
loweth, 

And all that can be obiecled againft this wide dif- 
tance is to fay that the eare by loofmg Ins concord is 
not fatisfied. So is in deede the rude and popular eare 
but not the learned, and therefore the Poet muft know 
towhofe eare he makethhis rime, and accommodate him- 
felfe thereto, and not giue fuch muficke to the rude and 
barbarous, as he would to the learned and delicate eare. 
"There is another fort of proportion vfed by Petrarche 
called the Seizino, not riming as other fongs do, but 
by chufmg fixe wordes out of which all the whole 

dittie is made, euery of thofe fixe com- .^ 

mencing and ending his verfe by C 3 

courfe, which reftraint to make the dittie ^ ' ^ 

fenfible will try the makers cunning, as c -■ ~~ 3 

thus. » 

Befides all this' there is in Situation of the concords 
two other points, one that it go by plaine and cleere 
compaffe not intangled : another by enterweauing one 
with another by knots, or as it were by band, which 
is more or leffe bufie and curious, all as the maker will 
double or redouble his rime or concords, and fet his 
diftances farre or nigh, of all which I will giue you 
ocular examples, as thus. 

Concord in 



Entertaii2fle. 



Plaine compaffe ZZZI >j ; * 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 101 

And firft in a Qiiadreine there are but two propor- 

^ . . * tions, for foure verfes in 

y *j ^ this lafl fort coupled, are 

-•* but two Difticks * and not 

a flaffe qiiadreine or of foure. 

The flaffe of flue hath feuen proportions as, 

whereof fome of them be harfher and vnpl eafaunter to 
the eare then other fomelbe. 

The Sixaine or flaffe of fixe hath ten proportions, 
wherof fome be vfuall, fome not vfuall, and not fo 
fweet one as another. 

The flaffe of feuen verfes hath feuen proportions, 
whereof one onely is the vfuall of our vulgar, and 
kept by our old Poets Chaucer and other in their 
hifloricall reports and other ditties : as in the laftpart 
of them that follow next. 



The huitain or flaffe of eight verfes, hath eight pro- 
portions fuch as the former flaffe, and becaufe he is 
longer, he^hath one more than the fettctine. 

The flaffe of nine verfes hath yet moe then the 
eight, and the flaffe of ten more then the ninth and 
the twelfth, if Tuch were allowable in ditties, more 



102 of Proportion, lib. ii. 

then any of them all, by reafon of his largeneffe re- 
ceiuing moe compaffes and enterweauings, alwayes 
confidered that the very large diflances be more arti- 
ficiall, then popularly pleafant, and yet do giiie great 
grace and grauitie, and moue paffion and affections 
more vehemently, as it is well to be obferued by 
Petrarcha his Canzoni. 

Now ye may perceiue by thefe proportions before 
defcribed, that there is a band to be giuen euery verfe 
in a ftaffe, fo as none fall out alone or vncoupled, and 
this band maketh that the ftaffe is fayd fail and not 
loofe : euen as ye fee in buildings of ft one or bricke 
the mafon giueth a band, that is^a length to two 
breadths, and vpon neceftitie diuers other forts of 
bands to hold in the~worke faft and maintaine the 
perpendicularitie of the wall : fo in any ftaffe of feuen 
or eight or more verfes, the coupling of the moe 
meeters by rime or concord, is the fafter band : the 
fewer the loofer band, and therfore in a huiteine he 
that putteth foure verfes in one concord and foure in 
another concord, and in a dizaine fiue, fheweth him 
felfe more cunning, and alfo more copious in his owne 
language. For he that can find two words of con- 
cord, can not find foure or fiue or fixe, vnleffe he haue 
his owne language at will. Sometime alfo ye are 
driuen of neceffitie to clofe and make band more 
then ye would, left otherwife the ftaffe fhould fall 
afunder and feeme two ftaues : and this is in a ftaffe 
of eight and ten verfes : whereas without a band in 
the middle, it would feeme two quadriejis or two quin- 
taines, which is an error that many makers Hide away 
with. Yet Chaucer and others in the ftaffe of feuen 
and fixe do almoft as much a miffe, for they fhut vp 
the ftaffe with a di/iicke, concording with none other 
verfe that went before, and maketh but a loofe rime, 
and yet bycaufe of the double cadence in the laft two 
verfes ferue the eare well inough. And as there is in 
euery ftaffe, band, giuen to the verfes by concord 
more or leffe bufie : fo is there in fome cafes a band 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 103 

giuen to euery ftaffe, and that is by one whole verfe 
running alone throughout th e ditty or ballade, either 
in the middle or end of euery ftaffe. The Greekes 
called fuch vncoupled verfe Egimonie, the Latines 
Verfus ijitercalaris. . Now touching the fituation of 
meafures, there are as rnanie or more proportions of 
them which I referre to the makers phantafie and 
choife, contented with two or three ocular examples 
and no moe. 




Which maner of proportion by fituation of meafures 
giueth more efficacie to the matter oftentimes then 
die concords them _ jellies, and both proportions con- 
curring together as they needes muft, it is of much 
more beautie and force to the hearers mind. 

To finifh the learning of this dilution, I will fet you 
downe one example of a dittie written extempore with 
this deuife, mewing not onely much promptneffe of 
wit in the maker, but alfo great arte and a notable 
memorie. Make me v faith this writer to one of the 
companiej fo many ftrokes or lines with your pen as 
yje would haue your fong containe verfes : and let 
euery line beare his feuerall length, euen as ye would 
haue your verfe of meafure. Suppofe of foure, hue, 
fixe or eight or more tillable s, and fet a figure of 
euerie number at th'end "of the line, whereby ye may 
knowe his meafure. Then where you will haue your 
rime or concord to fall, marke it with a compaft ftroke 
or femicircle pafting ouer thofe lines, be they farre or 
neare.in diftance, as ye haue feene before defcribed. 
And bycaufe ye fhall not thinke the maker hath pre- 
meditated beforehand any fuch fafhioned ditty, do ye 
your felfe make one verfe whether it be of perfect or 
imperfect fenfe, and giue it him for a theame to 



104 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

make all the reft vpon : if ye mall perceiue the maker 
do keepe the meafures and rime as ye haue appointed 
him, and b elides do make his dittie fenfible and en- 
fuant to the fiift verfe in good reafon, then may ye 
lay he is his crafts maifter. For if he were not of a 
plentiful difcourfe, he could not vpon the hidden 
fhape an entire dittie vpon your imperfect theame or 
propofition in one verfe. And if he were not copious 
in his language, he could not haue fuch ftore of wordes 
at commaundement, as mould fupply your concords. 
And if he were not of a maruelous good memory he 
could not obferue the rime and meafures after the 
diftances of your limitation, keeping with all grauitie 
and good fenfe in the whole dittie. 

CHAP. XL [XIL] 
Of Proportion i?i fig lire. 

jjOur laft proportion is that of figure, fo called 
for that it yelds an ocular reprefentation, 
your meeters being by good fymmetrie ' 
reduced into certaine Geometricall figures, 
whereby the maker is reftrained to keepe 
him within his bounds, and fheweth not onely more 
art, but ferueth alfo much better for briefeneffe and 
fubtiltie of deuice. And for the fame refpecl are alfo 
fitteft for the pretie amourets in Court to entertaine 
their feruants and the time withall, their delicate wits 
requiring fome commendable exercife to keepe them 
from idleneffe. I find not of this proportion vfed by 
any of the Greeke or Latine Poets, or in any vulgar 
writer, fauing of that one forme which they cal Ana- 
creens egge. But being in Italie conuerfant with a cer- 
taine gentleman, who had long trauailed the Orientall 
parts of the world, and feene the Courts of the great 
Princes of China and Tartaric I being very inquifi- 
tiue to know of the fubtillities of thofe countreyes, 
and efpecially in matter of learning and of their vulgar 
Poefie, he told me that they are in all their inuentions 
moft wittie, and haue the vfe of Poefie or riming, but 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 



do not delight fo much as we do in long tedious de- 
fcriptions, and therefore when they will vtter any pretie 
conceit, they reduce it into metricall feet, and put it 
in forme of a Lozange or fquare. or fuch other figure, 
and fo engrauen in gold, filuer or iuorie, and fome- 
times with letters of ametift, rubie, emeralde or topas 
curioufely cemented and peeced together, they fende 
them in chaines, bracelets, collars and girdles to their 
miftreffes to weare for a remembrance. Some fewe 
meafures compofed in this fort this gentleman gaue 
me, which I tranflated word for word and as neere as 
I could followed both the phrafe and the figure, which 
is fomewhat hard to performe^ becaufe of the reftraint 
of the figure from which ye may not digreffe. At the 
beginning they wil feeme nothing pleafant to an Englifh 
eare, but time and vfage wil make them acceptable 
inough, as it doth in all other new guifes, be it for wear- 
ing of apparell or otherwife. The formes of your Geo- 
metrical! figures be hereunder reprefented. 



The Fuzie or The Tri- 
The Lozange fpindle, called angle, or 
called Rombus Romboides Tricquet 



The Square or 
quadrangle 




The Pfflafter, 

or Cillinder 



The Spire or 
taper, called 
piramis 



The Rondel 
or Sphere 



The egge or 
figure ouall 




io6 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 



The Tricquet 
reuerft 



The Tricquet 
difplayed 



The Taper The Rondel 
reuerfed difplayed 





The Lozange 
reuerfed 





The Lozange 
rabbated 



^ 
^ 



Of the Lozange. 

The Lozange is a moll beautifull figure, and fit for 
this purpofe, being in his kind a quadrangle reuerft, 
with his point vpward like to a quarrell of glaffe the 
Greekes and Latines both call it Rombus which may 
be the caufe as I fuppofe why they alfo gaue that 
name to the nih commonly called the Turbot, who 
beareth iuftly that figure, it ought not to containe 
aboue thirteene or fifteene or one and twentie meetres, 
and the longeft furnilheth the middle angle, the reft 
paffe vpward and downward, flill abating their lengthes 
by one or two fillables till they come to the point : ■ 
the Fuzie is of the fame nature but that he is Iharper 
and ilenderer. I will giue you an example or two of thofe 
which my Italian friend bellowed vpon me, which as 
neare as I could I tranllated into the fame figure ob- 
feruing the phrafe of the Orientall fpeach word for 
word. 

A great Emperor in Tartary whom they cal Can, 
for his good fortune in the wars and many notable 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 107 

conquefts he had made, was fin-named Teinir Ctitzdewe, 
this man loued the Lady Kermefine, who prefented 
him returning from the conqueft of Co?'afoo?i (a great 
kingdom adioyning) with this Lozange made in letters 
of rubies and diamants entermingled thus 

Sound 

O Harpe 

SJiril- lie out 

Temir the stout 

Rider ivho with sharj>e 

Trenchingblade of bright Steele 

Hath made his fiercest foes tofeele 

A II such as wrought him shame or harme 

The strength of his braue right armc, 

Cleauing hard downe vnto the eyes 

The raw sktilles of his eyiemics. \ 

Much honor hath he woime 

By do ugh tie deedes done 

In Cora soon 

And all the 

World e 

Round. 

To which Can Temir answered in Fuzie, with letters of Emeralds a?id 
A metists artificially cut and entervmiglcd , thus \ 

Fiue 

Sorebciiailes 

M anfully fotight 

In blo7(ddy fielde 

With bright blade in hand 

Hath Tei7iirwon&>forst to yeld 

Many a Captai?ie stronger 3 stoute 

A nd many a king his Crowne to vayle, 

Conquering large counireys and layid. 

Yet ue ■ uer wanne I vi cto rie. V~~-C 

/ speake it ' to my greate glo rie, 

So deare and toy ~ full z'u - to me, 

As when I did first con quere thee 

O Kerme sine, of all myne foes 

The most cruell, of all myne, woes 

TJj£ smartest , tji£ sweet es: 

My firoude Con quest 

■ My ri chest pray 

O once a daye 

Lend me thy sight 

Whose only light 

Keepes me 

Aliue. 

Of the Iriangle or Triquet. 

The Triangle is an halfe fquare, Lozange or Fuzie 
parted vpon the croffe angles : and fo his bafe being 
brode and his top narrow, it receaueth meetres of 



108 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

many fizes one morter then another : and ye may vfe 
this figure Handing or reuerfed, as thus, 

A certaine great Sultan of Perfia called Ribuska, en- 
tertaynes in loue the Lady Selamour, fent her this tri- 
quet reueft pitioufly bemoning his eftate, all fet in 
merquetry with letters of blew Saphire and Topas 
artificially cut and entermingled. 

Selamoiir dearer than his owne life, 

To thy di tressed wretch captiue, 

Ri buska whome late ly erst ' 

Most cnc el ly thou fierst 

With thy dead ly dart, 

That ftaire of starres 

Shi ning a farre 

Turne from me, to vie 

That 1 'may andmay not see 

The smile, the loicre 

That lead and driue 

Me to die to liice 

Twiseyea thrise 

In one 

hotcre. "o V 

To which Selamour to make the match egall, and 
the figure entire, anfwered in a {landing Triquet richly 
engrauen with letters of like ftuffe. 



Power 

Of death 

Nor of life 

Hath Selamonr, 

With Gods it is rife 

Tn gene and bereue breathy 

I may for pi tie perchauuee 

Thy lost liber tie re store, 

Vfion thine othe with this fienaunce, 

That while thou Incest thozc neuer lone no more. 



% 



This condition feeming to Sultan Ribitska very hard 
to performe, and cruell to be enioyned him, doeth by 
another figure in Taper, fignifying hope, anfwere the 
Lady Selamour ; which dittie for lack of time 1 tran- 
flated not. 

Of the Spire or Taper called Pyr amis. 

The Taper is the longefl and fharpefl triangle that 
is, and while he mounts vpward he waxeth continually 
more flender, taking both his figure and name of the 
fire, whofe flame if ye marke it, is alwaies pointed, and 
naturally by his forme couets to clymbe : the Greekes 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 



109 



nature of the deuice 



Skie. 



call him Pvramis of irup. The Latin es in vfe of 
Architecture called him Obelifcus, it holdeth the alti- 
tude of fix ordinary triangles, and in metrifying his 
bafe can not well be larger then a me err e of fix, there- 
fore in his altitude he wil require diuers rabates to 
hold fo many fizes of meetres as mail feme for his 
compofition, for neare the toppe there wilbe roome 
litle inough for a meetre of two fillables, and fome- 
times of one to fmifh the point. I haue fet you downe 
one or two examples to try how ye can difgeft the 
maner of the deuife. 

From God the fount aine of all good, 
Her Maiestie,for many parts in her are deriued into the world all good 
most noble and. vertuous nature to be things: andvpoji her tnaiestie all the 
found, resembled" to the spire. Ye good fortwies any worldly creature 
must begin beneath according to the can be fnmisht with. Reade down- 
ward according to the nature of the 
deuice. 

1 God 

On 

Hie 

2 From 

Aboue 

Sendsloue, 

Wisedome, 

[3] Iu slice 

Cou rage, 

B 'pun tie, 

\-$\ Anddothgeue 

A I that Hue, 

Life and breath 

Harts ese helth 

Children, : 

Beauty strength 

Rest fell age, 

And at length 

A mild death, 

4 He doeth bestow 

A II mens fortunes 

Both high a?id low 

And the best things 

That earth ca?i haue 

Or mankind craue, 

__ Good queens and kings 

Fi nally is the same 

WJiogaueyou inadayi 

Seysou of this Crowne 

With poure soiceraigne 

Impitg naile right. 

Redoubtable might, 

Most prosperous raigne 

Eternall re nowme, 

A 7id that your chief est is 

Sure hope of heauens blis. 

Ed.] 



Azurd 2 
i?i the 
assurde, 

And better, 
And richer, 
Much s^reier, 



Crown a?idempir 
After an ~nier ' 
For to aspire 4 
L ike fame offre 
I71 forme of spire 

To mounUpn hie, r- 
Con ti nu a I ly 
With trauel and teen 
Mos t gra tio lis q ueen 
Ye haue made a vow 5 
Shews vs plainly how 
Not fained but true, 
To 'Zuery matis vew, 
Shining cleere in you 
Of so bright an he we, 
Eue?i thus vert ewe 

Vanish out of our sight 
Till his fine top be quite 
To Taper i?i the ayre 6 
Endeuors soft and faire 
By his kindly nature 
Of tall comely stature 
Like as this faire figure 

[The figures at the side, represent the number of syllables, 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 



The Filler, Pillafter or C Minder. 

The Piller is a figure among all the reft of the Geo- 
metrical! moil beawtifull, in refpect that he is tall and 
vpright and of one bigneffe from the bottom to the 
toppe. In Architecture he is confidered with two 
acceffarie parts, a pedeftall or bafe, and a chapter or 
head, the body is the ihaft. By this figure is fignified 
ftay, fupport, reft, ftate and magnificence, your dittie 
then being reduced into the forme of the Piller, his 
bafe will require to beare the brea.th of a meetre of 
fix or feuen or eight fillables : the ihaft of foure : the 
chapter egall with the bafe, 'of this proportion I will 
giue you one or two examples which may fuffife. 



Her Maiestie resembled to the crown- 
ed piller. Ye must read vpward. 



Is blisse with immortalitie . 
Hertrymest top of all ye see, 
Garnish the crowne 
Her lust renowne 
Chapter and Jiead, - 
Part that maintain 
A nd ivomanhead 
Her viayden raigne 
In te gri tie : 
In ho nour and 
With ve ri tie : 
Her rouudnes stand 
Strengthen the state. 
By their increase 
With out de bate 
Co7icord and, peace 
Of her siip port, 
TJiey be the base 
With stedfastnesse 
Vertue and grace 
Stay and comfort • 
Of Albi ons rest, 
The sounde Pillar 
And scene a farre 
Is plainely exprest 
Tall stately and stray t 

By this no ble pour t?-ayt 



Philo to the Lady Calia, sendeth this 
Odolet of her pray se in forme of a Pil- 
ler, which ye must read dowueward. 

Thy Princely port and Maiestie 
Is my ter reiie dei tie, 
Thy wit and sence 
The streame &> source 
Of e lo que j ice 
And deepe discours, \ 
The faire eyes are 
My bright loadstarre, 
Thy speache a darte 
Percing my harte, I 
Thy face a las. 
My loo king glasse, 
Thy loue ly lookes 
My prayer bookes, 
Thy pleasant cJieare 
My sunshine clea?-e, 
Thy ru full sight 
My darke midnight, 
Thy will the steiit 
Of my con teiit, 
Thy glo rye flour 
Of myhe Jio nour, 
Thy loue doth giue 
The lyfe I lyue, 
Thy lyfe it is 
Mine ea rthly blisse : 

But grace dffauourin thine eies 
My bodies soule &> souls paradise. 



The Rowidell or Spheare. 

The moil excellent of all the figures Geometrical is 
the round for his many perfections. Firft becaufe he 
is euen and fmooth, without any angle, or inter- 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. LI. in 

ruption, moil voluble and apt to turne, and to continue 
motion, which is the author of life : he conteyneth in 
him the commodious defcription of euery other figure, 
and for his ample capacitie doth refemble the world or 
vniuers, and for his indefmiteneffe hauing no fpeciall 
place of beginning nor end, beareth a fimilitude with 
God and eternitie. This figure hath three principall 
partes in his nature and vfe much confiderable '. the 
circle, the beame, and the center. The circle is his 
largefl compaffe or circumference : the center is his 
middle and indiuifible point : the beame is a line 
flretching directly from the circle to the center, and 
contrariwife from the center to the circle. By this de- 
fcription our maker may fafhion his meetre in Roundel,, 
either with the circumference, and that is circlewife, or 
from the circumference, that is, like a beame, or by the 
circumference, and that is ouerthwart and dyametrally 
from one fide of the circle to the other. 

A generall refemblance of the Roundell to God, the world 
and the Qtieene. 

All and whole, a?id euer, and Une, 
Single, fimple, eche where, alone, 
Thefe be coimted as Clerkes can tell, 
True properties, of the Roundell. 
His flill turning by conjequence 
And change, doe breede both life and fence. 
Time, meafure offlirre and rest, 
Is alfo by his courfe exprefl. 
How fwift the circle flirre aboue, cTo 
His center point doeth neuer moue : 
All things that euer were or be, 
Are clofde in his concauitie. 
And though he be, flill ticrnde and tofl, 
No roome there wants nor none is lost. 
The Roundell hath no bonch nor angle, 
WhicTTTndy his courfe flay or entangle. 
The ficrthefl part of all his fpheare, i 
Is equally both fai're and neare. 



U2 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

So doth none other figure fare 
Where natures chattels clofed are : 
And beyond his wide compaffe, 
There is no body nor no place, 
Nor any wit that comprehends, 
Where it begins, or where it ends : 
And therefore all men doe agree, 
That it purports eternitie. < 
God aboue the heauens fo hie 
Is this Roundell, in world the skie, 
Vp07i earth flze, who beares the bell 
Of maydes and Queenes, is this Roundell : 
All and whole and euer alone, 
Single, fans peer e, fimple, a?ido~ne. &* 

A fpeciall and particular refemblance of her Maieflio 
to the R oun dell. 

FIrfl her authoritie regall 
Is the circle comp offing all : 
The dominioii great and large i 

Which God hath geuen to her charge : 
Within which tnofil spatious bound 
She enuirons her people round, , 
Retaining them by oth and liegeance. 
Within the pale of true obeyfance: 
Holding imparked as it were. 
Her people like to heards of deer e. 
Sitting among them in the middes 
Where Jlie allowes and bannes and bids 
In what fajhion Jhe lift and when, 
The f entices of all her men. 
Out of her breaft as from an eye, 
Ijjue the rayes inceffantly 
Of her iuftice, bountie and might 
Spreading abroad their beamesfo bright, 
And reftecl not, till they attaine 
The far deft part of her domaine. 
And makes echefubiecl clearely fee, 
What he is bowiden for to be 



. OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 113 

To God his Prince and commo?i wealth, 
His neighbour, kinred and to himfelfe. 
The fame centre and ?niddle pi'icke, 
Whereto our deedes are drest jo thicke, 
From all the parts and out mojl fide 
Of her Monarchic large and wide, 
Alfo fro whence reflect thefe rayes, 
Twefitie hundred maner of wayes 
Where her will is them to conuey 
Within the circle of her furuey. 
So is the Queene of Briton groimd, 
Beame, circle, center of all my roimd. 

Of the fquare or quadrangle equilater. 
The fquare is of all other accompted the figure of 
moil folliditie and ftedfaftneffe, and for his owne flay 
and firmitie requireth none other bafe then himfelfe, 
and therefore as the roundell or Spheare is appropriat 
to the heauens, the Spire to the element of the fire : 
the Triangle to the ayre, and the Lozange to the water: 
fo is the fquare for his inconcuffable fleadineffe likened 
to the earth, which perchaunce might be the reafon 
that the Prince of Philofophers in his firfl booke of the 
Et hicks, termeth a conflant minded man, euen egal 
and direct on all fides, and not eafily ouerthrowne by 
euery litle aduerfitie, hominem quadratu?n, a fquare man. 
Into this figure may ye reduce your ditties of vfmg no 
moe verfes then your verfe is of fillables, which will 
make him fall out fquare, if ye go aboue it will grow 
into the figure Trapezion, which is fome portion longer 
then fquare. I neede not giue you any example, by- 
caufe in good arte all your ditties, Odes and Epigrammes 
mould keepe and not exceede the nomber of twelue 
verfes, and the longefl verfe to be of twelue fillables and 
not aboue, but vnder that number as much as ye will. 

The figure Ouall. 
This figure taketh his name of an egge, and alfo as 
it is thought his firfl origine, and is as it were a baflard 
or imperfect rounde declining toward a longitude, and 

H 



ii 4 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

yet keeping within one line for his periferie or compaffe 
as the rounde, and it feemeth that he receiueth this 
forme not as an imperfection by any impediment vn- 
naturally hindring his rotunditie, but by the wifedome 
and prouidence of nature for the commoditie of gene- 
ration, in fuch of her creatures as bring not forth a 
liuely body (as do foure footed beafts) but in Head 
thereof a certaine quantitie of fhapeleffe matter con- 
tained in a veffell, which after it is fequeftred from the 
dames body receiueth life and perfection, as in the 
egges of birdes, fifhes, and ferpents : for the matter 
being of fome quantitie, and to iffue out at a narrow 
place, for the eafie paffage thereof, it muft of neceffitie 
beare fuch fhape as might not be fharpe and greeuous 
to paffe as an angle, nor fo large or obtufe as might 
not effay fome iffue out with one part moe then other 
as the rounde, therefore it muft be flenderer in fome 
part, and yet not without a rotunditie and fmoothneffe 
to giue the reft an eafie deliuerie. Such is the figure 
Ouall whom for his antiquitie, dignitie and vfe, I 
place among the reft of the figures to embellifh our 
proportions : of this fort are diuers of Anacreons ditties, 
and thofe other of the Grecian Liricks, who wrate 
wanton amorous deuifes, to folace their witts with all, 
and many times they would (to giue it right fhape of 
an egge) deuide a word in the midft, and peece out the 
next verfe with the other halfe, as ye may fee by per- 
ufmg their meetres. 

There are two copies of TJie Arte of English Poesie in the British Museum : 
one in the general library, and the other in the Grenville collection. At the 
beginning of the Grenville copy is written as follows : — 

This Copy, which had belonged to Ben Jonfon and has his 
autograph on the Title-Page, is likewife remarkable for containing 
after p. 84 four cancelled leaves of text which, as far as I am in- 
formed, are not to be found in any other Copy of the book : yet, 
thofe leaves being cancelled, the 85th page certainly does not 
carry on the fentence which terminates p. 84. 

The reason of this last observation is that the cancelled leaves contained 
exactly 8 pp. ; which however did not begin at the top and so be imposed as 
so many separate pages, but at 14 lines from the bottom ; the text running on 
as in other parts of the book. When these pages were withdrawn there were 
a corresponding number of lines uncancelled, commencing ' When I wrate,' as 
on/. 124, at the bottom of the last of them ; so that page 84 of ordinary copies 
was easily completed by the addition of these lines. 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 115 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy, 

in the grenville collection, 

British Museum. 

Of the deuice or embleme, and that other which the Greekes 
call Anagramma, and we the Pofie iranfpofed. 




|Nd befides all the remembred points of 
Metrical! proportion, ye haue yet two other 
forts of fome affinitie with them, which 
alfo firft iffued out of the Poets head, and 
whereof the Courtly maker was the prin- 
cipall artificer, hauing many high conceites and curious 
imaginations, with leafure inough to attend his idle 
inuentions : and thefe be the fhort, quicke and fenten- 
tious propofitions, fuch as be at thefe dayes all your 
deuices of armes and other amorous infcriptions which 
courtiers vfe to giue and alfo to weare in liuerie for 
the honour of their ladies, and commonly containe 
but two or three words of wittie fentence or fecrete 
conceit till they vnfolded or explaned by fome inter- 
pretation. For which caufe they be commonly ac- 
companied with a figure or purtraicl of ocular repre- 
fentation, the words fo aptly correfponding to the 
fubtilitie of the figure, that afwel the eye is therwith 
recreated as the eare or the mind. The Greekes call 
it Emblema, the Italiens Imprefa, and we, a Deuice, 
fuch as a man may put into letters of gold and fende 
to his miftreffes for a token, or caufe to be embrodered 
in fcutchions of armes, or in any b ordure of a rich gar- 
ment to giue by his noueltie maruell to the beholder. 
Such were the figures and infcriptions the Romane 
Emperours gaue in their money and coignes of largeffe/ 
and in other great medailles of filuer and gold, as that 
of the Emperour Augti/lus, an arrow entangled by the 
fifh Remora, with thefe words, Fejlina lento, fignifying 
that celeritie is to be vfed with deliberation : all great 
enterprifes being for the moll part either ouerthrown 
with haft or hindred by delay, in which cafe leafure in 



u6 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

th'aduice, and fpeed in th'execution, make a very good 
match for a glorious fucceffe. 

Th'Emperour Heliogabalus by his name alluding to 
the funne, which in Greeke is Helios, gaue for his de- 
uice, the coeleftial funne, with thefe words [Soli i/iuiclo] 
the fubtilitie lyeth in the word [foli] which hath a doubta 
fence, viz. to the Sunne, and to him onely. 

We our felues attributing that moft excellent figure, 
for his incomparable beauty and light, to the perfon 
of our Soueraigne lady altring the mot, made it farre 
paffe that of Th'Emperour Heliogabalus both for fub- 
tilitie and multiplicitie of fenfe, thus, [Soli nunqua7n 
deficienti\ to her onely that neuer failes, viz. in bountie 
and munificence toward all hers that deferue, or eife 
thus, To her onely whofe glorie and good fortune may 
neuer decay or wane. And fo it inureth as a wifh by 
way of refemblaunce in [Simile diffimile\ which is alfo 
a fubtillitie, likening her Maieftie to the Sunne for his 
brightneffe, but not to him for his paffion, which is 
ordinarily to go to glade, and fometime to fuffer eclypfe. 

King Edvvarde the thirde, her Maieflies moft noble 
progenitour, firft founder of the famous order of the 
Garter, gaue this pofie with it. Hony foil qui mal y 
penfe, commonly thus Englifhed, 111 be to him that 
thinketh ill, but in mine opinion better thus, Difhonored 
be he, who meanes vnhonorably. There can not be a 
more excellent deuife, nor that could containe larger 
intendment, nor greater fubtilitie, nor (as a man may 
fay) more vertue or Princely generofitie. For firft he 
did by it mildly and grauely reproue the peruers con- 
ftrudlion of fuch noble men in his court, as imputed 
the kings wearing about his neck the garter of the 
lady with whom he danced, to fome amorous alliance 
betwixt them, which was not true. He alfo iuftly de- 
fended his owne integritie, faued the noble womans 
good renowme, which by licentious fpeeches might 
haue bene empaired, and liberally recompenced her in- 



OF PROPORTION. LIB, II. 117 

Eight cancelled pages, in Bex Jonson's copy. 

iurie with an honor, fuch as none could haue bin deuifed 
greater nor more glorious or permanent vpon her and 
all the pofleritie of her houfe. It inureth alfo as a 
worthy leffon and difcipline for all Princely perfonages, 
whofe actions, imaginations, countenances and fpeeches, 
mould euermore correfpond in all trueth and honorable 
fimplicitie. 

Charles the firft Emperour, euen in his yong yeares 
mewing his valour and honorable ambition, gaue for 
his new order, the golden Fleece, vfurping it vpon 
Prince Iafon and his Argonauts rich fpoile brought 
from Cholcos. But for his deuice two pillers with this 
mot Plus vitrei, as one not content to be rellrained 
within the limits that Hercules had fet for an vttermoft 
bound to all his trauailes, viz. two pillers in the mouth 
of the ftraight Gibraltare, but would go furder : which 
came fortunately to paffe, and whereof the good fuc- 
ceffe gaue great commendation to his deuice :- for by 
the valiancy of his Captaines before he died he con- 
quered great part of the well Indias, neuer knowen to 
Hercules or any of our world before. 

In the fame time (feeming that the heauens and 
ftarres had confpired to replenifh the earth with Princes 
and gouernours of great courage, and moil famous 
conquerours) Selim Emperour of Turkie gaue for his 
deuice a croiffant or new moone, promifmg to himfelf 
increafe of glory and enlargement of empire, til he had 
brought all Afia vnder his fubiec~lion, which he reason- 
ably well accomplifhed. For in leffe then eight yeres 
which he raigned, he conquered all Syria and Egypt, 
and layd it to his dominion. This deuice afterward was 
vfurped by Henry the fecond French king, with this 
mot Do7iec totum compleat orbe?n, till he be at his full : 
meaning it not fo largely as did Selim, but onely that 
his . friendes mould knowe how vnable he was to do 
them good, and to fhew benificence vntil he attained 
the crowne of France vnto which he afpired as next 
fucceffour. 



u8 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

King Lewis the twelfth, a valiant and magnanimous 
prince, who becaufe hee was on euery fide enuironed 
with mightie neighbours, and moil of them his enemies, 
to let them perceiue that they ihould not finde him 
vnable or vnfurniihed (incafe they ihould offer any vn- 
lawfull hoilillitie) of fufficient forces of his owne, afwell 
to offende as to defend, and to reuenge an iniurie as 
to repulfe it. He gaue for his deuice the Porkefpick 
with this pofie fres et loign, both farre and neare. For 
the Purpentines nature is, to fuch as Hand aloofe, to 
dart her prickles from her, and if they come neare her, 
with the fame as they ilicke fail to wound them that 
hurt her. 

But of late yeares in the ranfacke of the Cities of 
Cartagena and S. Dominiw in the Weil Indias, man- 
fully put in execution by the proweffe of her Maieflies 
men, there was found a deuice made peraduenture 
without King Philips knowledge, wrought al in maffme 
copper, a king fitting on horfebacke vpon a monde or 
world, the horfe prauncing forward with his forelegges 
as if he would leape of, with this infcription, Non 
fufficit orbis, meaning, as it is to be conceaued, that 
. one whole world could not content him. This im- 
meafurable ambition of the Spaniards, if her Maieilie 
by Gods prouidence, had not with her forces, prouid- 
ently ilayed and retranched, no man knoweth what 
inconuenience might in time haue infued to all the 
Princes and common wealthes in Chriilendome, who 
haue founde them felues long annoyed with his ex- 
ceffme greatneffe. 

Atila king of the Huns, inuading France with an 
army of 300000. fighting men, as it is reported, think- 
ing vtterly to abbafe the glory of the Romane Empire, 
gaue for his deuice of armes, a fword with a fine point 
and thefe words, Ferro et flamma, with fword and fire. 
This very deuice being as ye fee onely accommodate 
to a king or conquerour and not a coillen or any meane 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 119 

Eight cancelled pages, in Bex Joxsox's copy. 

fouldier, a certaine bafe man of England being knowen 
euen at that time a bricklayer or mafon by his fcience, 
gaue for his creft : whom it had better become to beare 
a trueli full of morter then a fword and fire, which is 
onely the reuenge of a Prince, and lieth not in any 
other mans abilitie to performe, vnleffe ye will allow 
it to euery poore knaue that is able to fet fire on a thacht 
houfe. The heraldes ought to vfe great difcretion in 
fuch matters : for neither any rule of their arte doth 
warrant fuch abfurdities, nor though fuch a coat or 
creft were gained by a prifoner taken in the field, or 
by a flag found in fome ditch and neuer fought for (as 
many times happens) yet is it no more allowable then 
it were to beare the deuice of Tamerlan an Emperour 
in Tartary, who gaue the lightning of heauen, with a 
poefie in that language purporting thefe words, Ira 
Dei, which alfo appeared well to anfwer his fortune. 
For from a flurdie fhepeheard he became a moft 
mighty Emperour, and with his innumerable great 
armies defolated fo many countreyes and people, as 
he might iuitly be called \the wrath of Goo 7 .] It 
appeared alfo by his ftrange ende : for in the midfl of 
his greatneffe and profperitie he died fodainly, and 
left no child or kinred for a fucceffour to fo large an 
Empire, nor any memory after him more then of his 
great puiffance and crueltie. 

But that of the king of China in the fardeft part of 
the Orient, though it be not fo terrible is no leffe ad- 
mirable, and of much fharpneffe and good implication, 
worthy for the greateft king and conqueror : and it is, 
two ftrange ferpents entertangled in their amorous 
congrefie, the leffer creeping with his head into the 
greaters mouth, with words purporting \atna et time] 
loue and feare Which pofie with maruellous much 
reafon and fubtillity implieth the dutie of euery 
fubiect to his Prince, and of euery Prince to his 
fubiect. and that without either of them both, no 
fubiect could be fayd entirely to performe his liegeance, 



120 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

nor the Prince his part of lawfull gouernement. For 
without feare and loue the foueraigne authority could 
not be vpholden, nor without iuflice and mercy the 
Prince be renowmed and honored of his fubiecl. All 
which parts are difcouered in this figure : loue by the 
ferpents amorous entertangling : obedience and feare 
by putting the inferiours head into the others mouth 
hauing puiffance to deflroy. On th' other fide, iuflice 
in the greater to prepare and manace death and de- 
finition to offenders. And if he fpare it, then betoken- 
eth it mercie, and a grateful recompence of the loue and 
obedience which the foueraigne receaueth. 

It is alfo worth the telling, how the king vfeth the 
fame in pollicie, he giueth it in his ordinarie liueries 
to be worne in euery vpper garment of all his nobleft 
men and greater! Magiftrats and the reft of his officers 
and feruants, which are either embrodered vpon the 
breafl and the back with filuer or gold or pearle or ftone 
more or leffe richly, according to euery mans dignitie 
and calling, and they may not prefume to be feene in 
publick without them : nor alfo in any place where by 
the kings commiflion they vfe to fit in iuflice, or any 
other publike affaire, wherby the king is highly both 
honored and ferued, the common people retained in 
dutie and admiration of his greatneffe : the noblemen, 
magiftrats and officers euery one in his degee fo much 
efleemed and reuerenced, as in their good and loyall 
feruice they want vnto their perfons litle leffe honour 
for the kings fake, then can be almoft due or exhibited 
to the king him felfe. 

I could not forbeare to adde this forraine example 
to accomplifh our difcourfe touching deuices. For the 
beauty and gallantneffe of it, befides the fubtillitie of 
the conceit, and princely pollicy in the vfe, more exact 
then can be remembred in any other of any Eiu-opean 
Prince, whofe deuifes I will not fay but many of them 
be loftie and ingenious, many of them louely and 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 121 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

beautifull, many other ambitious and arrogant, and the 
chief eft of them terrible and ful of horror to the nature 
of man, but that any of them be comparable with it, for 
wit, vertue, grauitie, and if ye lift brauerie, honour and 
magnificence, not vfurping vpon the peculiars of the 
gods. In my conceipt there is none to be found. 

This may fuffice for deuices, a terme which includes 
in his generality all thofe other, viz. liueries, cogniz- 
ances, emblem es, enfeigns and imprefes. For though 
the termes be diuers, the vfe and intent is but one 
whether they reft in colour or figure or both, or in 
word or in muet fhew, and that is to infinuat fome 
fecret, wittie, morall and braue purpofe prefented to 
the beholder, either to recreate his eye, or pleafe his 
phantafie, or examine his iudgement or occupie his 
braine or to manage his will either by hope or by 
dread, euery of which refpecles be of no litle moment 
to the intereft and ornament of the ciuill life : and 
therefore give them no little commendation. Then 
hauing produced fo many and wife founders of thefe 
deuices, and fo many puiffant patrons and protectours 
of them, I feare no reproch in this difcourfe, which 
otherwife the venimous appetite of enuie by detraction 
or fcorne would peraduenture not fticke to offer me. 

Of the Anagrame, or poefie tranfpofed. 

jNe other pretie conceit we will impart vnto 
you and then trouble you with no more, 
and is alfo borrowed primitiuely of the 
Poet, or courtly maker, we may terme him, 
the \_poefie tranfpofeol\ or in one word [a 
tranfpofe\ a thing if it be done for paftime and exercife 
of the wit without fuperftition commendable inough 
and a meete ftudy for Ladies, neither bringing them 
any great gayne nor any great loffe vnleffe it be of idle 
time. They that vfe it for pleafure is to breed one word 




122 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

out of another not altering any letter nor the number 
of them, but onely tranfpofmg of the fame, wherupon 
many times is produced fome grateful newes or matter 
to them for whofe pleafure and feruice it was intended : 
and bicaufe there is much difficultie in it, and alto- 
gether ftandeth upon hap hazard, it is compted for a 
courtly conceit no leffe then the deuice before remem- 
bred. Lycophron one of the feuen Greeke Lyrickes, 
who when they met together (as many times they did) 
for their excellencie and louely Concorde, were called 
the feuen ftarres \_pkiades~] this man was very perfit 
and fortunat in thefe tranfpofes, and for his delicate 
wit an(J other good parts was greatly fauoured by 
Ptolome king of Egypt and Queene Ai'finoe his wife. 
He after fuch fort called the king a-Tro^iXirog which is 
letter for letter Ptolomceus and Queene Arfmoe, he 
called 7ov r\pag, which is Arfinoe, now the fubtillitie 
lyeth not in the conuerfion but in the fence in this 
that Apomelitos, fignifieth in Greek \1ioney fweei] fo was 
Ptoleme the fweetefl natured man in the world both for 
countenance and conditions, and loner as, fignifieth the 
the violet or flower of Iuno a ftile ampng the Greekes 
for a woman endued with all bewtie and magnificence, 
which conftruclion falling out grateful and fo truly, exceed- 
ingly well pleafed the King and the Queene, and got Lyco- 
phron no litle thanke and benefite at both their hands. 
The French Gentlemen haue very fharpe witts and 
withall a delicate language, which may very eafily be 
wrefted to any alteration of words fententious, and 
they of late yeares haue taken this paflime vp among 
them many times gratifying their Ladies, and often 
times the Princes of the Realme, with fome fuch 
thankfull noueltie. Whereof one made by Francois 
de Vallois, thus De facon fuis Roy, who in deede was 
of fafhion countenance and ftature, befides his regall 
vertues a very king, for in a world there could not be 
feene a goodlier man of peifon. Another found this 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 123 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

■ by Henry de Vallois [Roy de nulz hay'] a king hated of 
no man, and was apparant in his conditions and nature, 
for there was not a Prince of greater affabilitie and 
manfuetude than he. 

I my felfe feeing this conceit fo well allowed of in 
Fraunce and Italie, and being informed that her Ma- 
ieftie tooke pleafure fometimes in defciphring of names, 
and hearing how diuers Gentlemen of her Court had 
effayed but with no great felicitie to make fome de- 
lectable tranfpofe of her Maiefties name, I would 
needs try my luck, for cunning I now not why I mould 
call it, vnleffe it be for the many and variable applica- 
tions of fence, which requireth peraduenture fome wit 
and difcretion more then of euery vnlearned man and 
for the purpofe I tooke me thefe three wordes (if any 
other in the world) containing in my conceit greater! 
myfterie, and mofl importing good to all them that 
now be aliue, under her noble gouernement. 
EI iff abet Anglo rum Regina. 

Which orthographie (becaufe ye mail not be abufed) 
is true and not miilaken, for the letter c-eta, of the 
Hebrewes and Greeke and of all other toungs is in 
truth but a double ff hardly vttered, and H. is but a 
note of afpiration onely and no letter, which therefore 
is by the Greeks omitted. Ypon the tranfpofition I 
found this to redound. 

Malta regnabis enfe gloria. 

By thy jword ' JJialt thou raigne ill great renowne. 

Then tranfpofmg the word [enfe] it came to be 

Malta regnabis fene gloria. 

Aged and in much glorieJJiall ye raigne. 

Both which refultes falling out vpon the very firfl marfhal- 

ling of the letters, without any darkneffe or difficultie. 

and fo fenlibly and well appropriat to her Maiefties 

perfon and eflate, and finally fo effectually to mine 

own wifh (which is a matter of much moment in fuch 

cafes) I took them both for a good boding, and very 



I2 4 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Eight cancelled pages, in Ben Jonson's copy. 

fatallitie to her Maieftie appointed by Gods prouidence 
for all our comfortes. Alfo I imputed it for no litle 
good luck and glorie to my felfe, to haue pronounced 
to her fo good and profperous a fortune, and fo thanke- 
full newes to all England, which though it cannot be 
faid by this euent any deflinie or fatal neceffitie, yet 
furely is it by all probabillitie of reafon, fo likely to 
come to paffe, as any other worldly euent of things 
that be vncertaine, her Maieftie continuing the courfe 
of her moil regal proceedings and vertuous life in all 
earnefl zeale and godly contemplation of his word, 
and in the fmcere adminiftration of his terrene iuftice, 
affigned ouer to her execution as his Lieutenant vpon 
earth within the compaffe of her dominions. 

This alfo is worth the noting, and I will affure you 
of it, that after the hrft fearch whereupon this tranfpofe 
was falhioned. The fame letters being by me toffed 
and tranlaced hue hundreth times, I could neuer make 
any other, at leafl of fome 'fence and conformitie to 
her Maiefties eftate and the cafe. If any other man 
by triall happen vpon a better omination, or what 
foeuer els ye will call it, I will reioyfe to be ouer- 
matched in my deuife, and renounce him all the 
thankes and profite of my trauaile. 

End of the cancelled pages. 

The text then immediately follows on thus : — • 

When I wrate of thefe deuices, I fmiled with my felfe, 
thinking that the readers would do fo to, and many of 
them fay, that fuch trifles as thefe might well haue 
bene fpared, confidering the world is full inough of 
them, and that it is pitie mens heades mould be fedde 
with fuch vanities as are to none edification nor in- 
ftrudlion, either of morall vertue, or otherwife behooffull 
for the common wealth, to whofe feruice (fay they) we 
are all borne, and not to fill and replenifh a whole 
world full of idle toyes. To which fort of reprehen- 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 125 

dours, being either all holy and mortified to the 
world, and therfore efleeming nothing that fauoureth 
not of Theologie, or altogether graue and worldly, and 
therefore caring for nothing but matters of pollicie, 
and difcourfes of eftate, or all giuen to thrift and 
paffmg for none art that is not gainefull and lucratiue, 
as the fciences of the Law, Phificke and merchaundife : 
to thefe I will giue none other anfwerethen referrethem 
to the many trifling poemes of Homer, Onid, Virgill, 
Catullus and other notable writers of former ages, which 
were not of any grauitie or ferioufneffe, and many of 
them full of impudicitie and ribaudrie, as are not thefe 
of ours, nor for any good in the world mould haue 
bene : and yet thofe trifles are come from many former 
fiecles vnto our times, vncontrolled or condemned or 
fupprefl by any Pope or Patriarch or other feuere 
cenfor of the ciuill maners of men, but haue bene in 
all ages permitted as the conuenient folaces and recrea- 
tions of mans wit. And as I can not denie but thefe 
conceits of mine be trifles : no leffe in very deede Be 
all the moft ferious ftudies of man, if we fhall meafure 
grauitie and lightneffe by the wife mans ballance who 
after he had confidered of all the profoundeft artes 
and fludies among men, in th'ende cryed out with 
this Epyphoneme, Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas. 
Whole authoritie if it were not fufficient to make me 
beleeue fo, I could be content with De?nocritus rather 
to condemne the vanities, of our life by derifion, then as 
Heraclitus with teares, faying with that merrie Greeke 
thus, 

Omnia funt rifus, funt puluis, et omnia nil f tint. 
Res hominum cunclce, nam ratione carent. 
Thus Englifhed, 

All is but a left, all duji, all not worth two peafon : 

For why in mans matters is neither rime nor reafon. 

Now paffmg from thefe courtly trifles, let vs talke 

of our fcholaflical toyes, that is of the Grammaticall 

verifying of the Greeks and Latines and fee whether 

it might be reduced into our Englifh arte or no. 




126 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

CHAP. XII [XIII] 

How if all maner of fodaine iimouations were not very 

fcandalous, fpecially in the /awes of any Ian gage or 

' arte, the vfe of the Greeke and latiiie feete 

might be brought into our vulgar Poefie, 

and with good grace inough. 

jOw neuertheleffe albeit we haue before al- 
ledged that our vulgar Saxon EngliJJi 
Handing moft vpon wordes monofillable, 
and little vpon polyfillables doth hardly 
admit the vfe of thole fine inuented feete 
of the Greeks and Latines, and that for the moft part 
wife and graue men doe naturally miflike with all fod- 
aine innouations fpecially of lawes (and this the law 
of our auncient Englifh Poefie) and therefore lately be- 
fore we imputed it to a nice and fcholafticall curiofitie 
in fuch makers as haue fought to bring into our vulgar 
Poefie fome of the auncient feete. to wit the Daclile 
into verfes exameters, as he that tranflated certaine 
bookes of Virgils Eneydos in fuch meafures and not vn- 
commendably : if I mould now fay otherwife it would 
make me feeme contradictorie to my felfe, yet for the 
information of our yong makers, and pleafure of all 
others who be delighted in noueltie, and to th'intent 
we may not feeme by ignorance or ouerfight to omit 
any point of fubtillitie, materiall or neceffarie to our 
vulgar arte, we will in this prefent chapter and by our 
own idle obferuations fhew how one may eafily and 
commodioufty lead all thofe feete of the auncients into 
our vulgar langage. And if mens eares were not per- 
chaunce to daintie, or their iudgementes ouer partiall, 
would peraduenture nothing at all misbecome our arte, 
but make in our meetres a more pleafant numerofitie 
then now is. Thus farre therefore we will aduenture 
and not beyond, to th'intent to fhew some fmgularitie 
in our arte that euery man hath not heretofore obferued, 
and (her maiefly good liking always had) whether we 
make the common readers to laugh or to lowre, all is 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 127 

a matter, iince our intent is not fo exactlie to profecute 
the purpofe, nor fo earneftly, as to think e it mould by 
authority of our owne iudgement be generally applauded 
at to the difcredit of our forefathers maner of vulgar 
Poefie, or to the' alteration or peraduenture totall de- 
flruction of the fame, which could not Hand with any 
good difcretion or curtefie in vs to attempt, but thus 
much I fay, that by fome leafurable trauell it were no 
hard matter to induce all their auncient feete into vfe 
with vs, and that it mould proue very agreable to the 
eare and well according with our ordinary times and 
pronunciation, which no man could then iuftly miilike, 
and that is to allow euery word polifiUable one long 
time of neceflitie, which mould be where his fharpe ac- 
cent falls in our owne ydiome moil aptly and naturally, 
wherein we would not follow the licence of the Greeks 
and Latines, who made not their fharpe accent any 
neceffary prolongation of their times, but vfed fuch 
filiable fometimes long fometimes fhort at their plea- 
fure. The other fillables of any word where the fharpe 
accent fell not, to be accompted of fucli time and quan- 
tise as his ortographie would belt beare hauing regard 
to himfelfe, or to his next neighbour, word, bounding 
him on either fide, namely to the fmoothnes and hard- 
neffe of the filiable in his vtterance, which is occafioned 
altogether by his ortographie and fcituation as in this 
word \ddyly\ the firft filiable for his vfuall and fharpe 
accentes fake to be alwayes long, the fecond for his 
flat accents fake to be alwayes fhort, and the rather 
for his ortographie, bycaufe if he goe before another 
word commencing with a vowell not letting him to be 
eclipfed, his vtterance is eafie and currant, in this trif- 
fillable [daungerous] the firft to be long, th'other two 
fhort for the fame caufes. In this word \d anger 011 fneffe] 
the firft and laft to be both long, bycaufe they receiue 
both of them the fharpe accent, and the two middle- 
moft to be fhort, in thefe words [remedie] and [re/nedi- 
leffe] the time to follow alfo the accent, fo as if it pleafe 
better to fet the fharpe accent vpon [re] then vpon [dye] 



128 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

that Tillable fhould be made long and e cornier jo, but in 
this word \remedileffe\ bycaufe many like better to accent 
the Tillable \ine\ then the Tillable [les] therfore I leaue 
him for a common Tillable to be able to receiue both a 
long and a fhort time as occaTion mall Terue. The like 
law I Tet in thefe wordes [renocable] \recouerable\ \irre- 
uocable~\ \iri'ecouerable\ Tor fometime it founds better to 
Tay reuo cable then re no cable, recouer able then reed tier able 
Tor this one thing ye muft alwayes markethat iTyour time 
Tall either by reafon of his fharpe accent or otherwife 
vpon the pennltima, ye Thai finde many other words to 
rime with him, bycaufe fuch terminations are not geazon, 
but if the long time Tall vpon the antepenultima ye mall 
not finde many wordes to match him in his termination, 
which is the cauTe oT his concord or rime, but if you 
would let your long time by his fbarpe accent Tall aboue 
the antepenultima as to Tay [cbnerdble] ye mail Teldome 
or perchance neuer find one to make vp rime with him 
vnleffe it be badly and by abuTe, and therefore in all 
Tuch long polifdlables ye doe commonly giue two fharpe 
accents, and thereby reduce him into two Teete as in 
this word \remu neratioii\ which makes a couple oTgood 
Daclils, and in this word \cdntributio?i\ which makes a 
good fpondeus and a good daclill, and in this word \re- 
capitiilatib?i\ it makes two daclills and a Tillable ouerplus 
to annexe to the word precedent to helpe peece vp 
another foote. But for wordes monofillables (as be 
moil oT ours) becauTe in pronouncing them they do oT 
neceTTitie retaine a fharpe accent, ye may iuflly allow 
them to be all long if they will fo befl Terue your turne, 
and iT they be tailed one to another, or th'one to a 
difflllable or polyffillable ye ought to allow them that 
time that befl ferues your purpofe and pleafeth your 
eare mofl, and truliefl aunfweres the nature of the orto- 
graphie in which I would as neare as I could obferue 
and keepe the lawes oT the Greeke and Latine verfi- 
fiers, that is to prolong the Tillable which is written 
with double confonants or by dip thong or with Tingle 
confonants that run hard and harfhly vpon the toung : 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 129 

and to fhorten all fillables that Hand vpon vowels, if 
there were no caufe of elifion and fmgle confonants and 
fuch of them as are moil flowing and flipper vpon the 
toung as. n.r.t.d.l. and for this purpofe to take away 
all afpirations, and many times the laft confonant of a 
word as the Latine Poetes vfed to do, fyecially Lucretius 
and Ennius as to fay \_finibii\ for [f/iibus] and fo would 
not I flick to fay thus [delite~] for [delight'] \_hye~\ for [high] 
and fuch like, and doth nothing at all impugne the rule 
I gaue before againft the wrefling of wordes by falfe 
ortographie to make vp rime, which may not be falfified. 
But this omiffion of letters in the middeft of a meetre 
to make him the more flipper, herpes the numerofitie 
and hinders not the rime. But generally the fhortning 
or prolonging of the monofillables dependes much vpon 
the nature of their ortographie which the Latin Gram- 
mariens call the rule of pofition, as for example if I 
mail fay thus. 

Not manie dayes pafl. Twentie dayes after, 
This makes a good Daclill and a goodfrondeus, but if 
ye turne them backward it would not do fo, as. 

Many dayes, not paft. 
And the diftick made all of monofillables. 
But none of us true men and free, 
Could finde fo great good lucke as he. 
Which words feme well to make the verfe aW. fpondiacke 
or iambicke, but not in daclil, as other words or the 
fame otherwife placed would do, for it were an illfauored 
daclil to fay. 

Bid none of, us all trewe. 
Therefore whenfoeuer your w r ords will not make a 
fmooth daclil, ye muil alter them or their fituations, or 
elfe turne them to other feete that may better beare 
their maner of found and orthographie : or if the word 
be polyfi 'liable to deuide him, and to make him ferue by 
peeces, that he could not do whole and entierly. And 
no doubt by like confideration did the Greeke and 
Latine verfmers fafhion all their feete at the firft to be 
of fundry times, and the felfe fame fillable to be fome- 

1 



\ 



130 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

time long and fometime fhort for the eares better fatisfac- 
tion as hath bene before remembred. Now alfo wheras 
I faid before that our old Saxon Englifh for his many 
mcnofdlables did not naturally admit the vfe of the 
ancient feete in our vulgar meafures fo aptly as in thofe 
languages which flood moil vpon polifdlables, I fayd it 
in a fort truly, but now I muft recant and confeffe that 
our Norman e Englifh which hath growen fmce William 
the Conquerour doth admit any of the auncient feete, 
by reafon of the many polyfdlables euen to fixe and 
feauen in one word, which we at this day vfe in our 
mofl ordinarie language: and which corruption hath 
bene occafioned chiefly by the peeuifh affectation not 
of the Normans them felues, but of clerks and scholers 
or fecretaries long fmce, who not content with the vfual 
Normane or Saxon word, would conuert the very Latine 
and Greeke word into vulgar French, as to fay innum- 
erable for innombrable, reuocable, irreuocable, irradia- 
tion, depopulation and fuch like, which are not natur- 
all Normans nor yet French, but altered Latines, and 
without any imitation at all : which therefore were long 
time defpifed for inkehorne termes, and now be reputed 
the befl and mofl delicat of any other. Of which and 
many other caufes of corruption of our fpeach we haue 
in another place more amply difcourfed, but by this 
meane we may at this day very well receiue the aun- 
cient feete meti-icall of the Greeks and Latines fauing 
thofe that be fuperflous as be all the feete aboue the 
triffdlalde, which the old Grammarians idly inuented 
and diflinguifht by fpeciall names, whereas in deede 
the fame do fland compounded with the inferiour feete, 
and therefore fome of them were called by the names 
of didaclihis, difpondens and difiambas: all which feete 
as I fay we may be allowed to vfe with good difcretion 
and precife choife of wordes and with the fauorable 
approbation of readers, and fo fhall our plat in this one 
point be larger and much furmount that which Stani- 
hurft firft tooke in hand by his exameters daclilidze and 
fpondaicke in the tranflation of Virgdls Eneidos, and 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 131 

fuch as for a great number of them my ftomacke can 
hardly dig eft for the ill fhapen found of many of his 
wordes polifdlable and alfo his copulation of monofdl- 
ables fupplving the quantitie of a triffillable to his in- 
tent. And right fo in promoting this deuife of ours 
being (I feare me) much more nyce and affected, and 
therefore more mifliked then his, we are to befpeake 
fauour, firft of the delicate eares, then of the rigorous 
and feuere difpolitions, laftly to craue pardon of the 
learned and auncient makers in our vulgar, for if we 
mould feeke in euery point to egall our fpeach with 
the Greeke and Latin in their metricall obferuations it 
could not poffible be by vs perfourmed, becaufe their 
fillables came to be timed fome of them long, fome of 
them fhort not by reafon of any euident or apparant 
caufe in writing or founde remaining vpon one more 
then another, for many times they fhortned the fillable 
of fharpe accent and made long that of the flat, and 
therefore we muft needes fay, it was in many of their 
wordes done by preelection in the firft Poetes, not 
hauing regard altogether to the ortographie, and hard- 
neffe or foftneffe of a fillable, confonant, vowell or dip- 
thong, but at their pleafure, or as it fell out: fo as he 
that firft put in a verfe this word \_Penelope~\ which 
might be Homer or fome other of his antiquitie, where 
he made [pe] in both places long and \jif\ and \lo\ 
fhort, he might haue made them otherwife and with as 
good reafon, nothing in the world appearing that might 
moue them to make fuch (preelection) more in th'one 
fillable then in the other for pe. ne. and lo. being fill- 
ables vocals be egally fmoth and currant vpon the 
toung, and might beare afwel the long as the fhort time, 
but it pleafed the Poet otherwife : fo he that firft fhort- 
ned, ca. in this word ca?io, and made long tro, in troia, 
and 0, in oris, might haue afwell done the contrary, 
but becaufe he that firft put them into a verfe, found 
as' it is to be fuppofed a more fweetneffe in his owne 
eare to haue them fo tymed, therefore all other Poets 
who followed, were fayne to doe the like, which made 



132 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

that Virgill who came many year es after the firfl recep- 
tion of wordes in their feuerall times, was driuen of 
neceffitie to accept them in fuch quantities as they were 
left him and therefore faid. 

drma ui rumque cd no tro ie qui 
primus db oris. 
Neither truely doe I fee any other reafon in that 
lawe (though in other rules of fhortning and prolonging 
a fillable there may be reafon) but that it flands vpon 
bare tradition. Such as the Cabalifts auouch in their 
myfticall conflruclions Theological! and others, faying 
that they receaued the fame from hand to hand from 
the firfl parent Adam, Abraham and others, which I 
will giue them leaue alone both to fay and beleeue 
for me, thinking rather that they haue bene the idle 
occupations, or perchaunce the malitious and craftie 
conftruclions of the Talmudi/ls, and others of the Heb- 
rue clerks to bring the world inta admiration of their 
lawes and Religion. Now peraduenture with vs 
Englifhmen it be fomewhat too late to admit a new in- 
uention of feete and times that our forefathers neuer 
vfed nor neuer obferued till this day, either in their 
meafures or in their pronuntiation, and perchaunce will 
feeme in vs a prefumptuous part to attempt, confider- 
ing alfo it would be hard to find many men to like of 
one mans choife in the limitation of times and quanti- 
ties of words, with which not one, but euery eare is to 
be pleafed and made a particular iudge, being moll 
truly fayd, that a multitude or comminaltie is hard to 
pleafe and eafie to offend, and therefore I intend not 
to proceed any further in this curiofitie then to fhew 
fome fmall fubtillitie that any other hath not yet done, 
and not by imitation but by obferuation, nor to th'in- 
tent to haue it put in execution in our vulgar Poefie, 
but to be pleafantly fcanned vpon, as are all nouelties 
fo friuolous and ridiculous as it. 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 133 

CHAP. XIII. [XIV.] 
A more particular declaration of the metrical! feete of 
■ the ancient Poets Greeke and latine and chiefly 

of the feet e of two times. 

[Heir Grammarians made a great multitude 
of feete, I wot not to what huge number, 
and of fo many fizes as their wordes were 
of length, namely fixe fizes, whereas in 
deede, the metricall feete are but twelue 
in number, wherof foure only be of two times, and 
eight of three times, the reft compounds of the premifed 
two forts, euen as the Arithmeticall numbers aboue 
three are made of two and three. And if ye will know 
how many of thefe feete will be commodioufly receiued 
with vs, I fay all the whole twelue, for firft for the foote 
fpondeus of two long times ye haue thefe Englifh wordes 
morning, midnight, mlfchaunce, and a number moe whofe 
ortographie may direct your iudgement in this point : 
for yovxTrockeus of a long and fhort ye haue thefe words 
maner, broken, taken, bodie, member, and a great many 
moe if their laft fillables abut not vpon the confonant 
in the beginning of another word, and in thefe whether 
they do abut or no wlttie,dittie, sorrow, morrow, and fuch 
like, which end in a vowell for your Iambus of a fhort 
and a long, ye haue thefe wordes [reflore] [remorfe] [de- 
sire] [endure] and a thoufand befides. For your foote 
pirrichius or of two fhort filables ye haue thefe words 
[manie] [money] [penie] [silie] and others of that con- 
ftitution or the like: for your feete of three times and 
firft your daclill, ye haue thefe wordes and a number 
moe patience, temperance, vvomdnhedd, idlitie, daunger- 
ous, duetifull and others. For your molojfus, of all three 
long, ye haue a member [number?] of wordes alfo and 
fpecially moil of your participles acliue, as persifiing, 
defpoillng, endentlng, and fuch like in ortographie : for 
your anapeflus of two fhort and a long ye haue thefe 
words but not many moe, as manifold, monileffe, imma- 
nent, holine/fe. For your foote tribracchus of all three 



134 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

fhort, ye haue very few triffillables ', becaufe the fharpe 
accent will always make one of them long by pronun- 
ciation, which els would be by ortographie fhort as, 
\merily\ \ininio?i\ and fuch like. For your foote bac- 
chins of a fhort and two long ye haue thefe and the 
like words triffillables \ldmenting\ \i'equefting\ \rtnouiic- 
z?!g\ \i'epentance\ \enurzng\. For your foote cuitibaccJiins, 
of two long and a fhort ye haue thefe wordes [forsaken] 
\impugned\ and others many: For your amphimacer 
that is a long a fhort and a long ye haue thefe wordes 
and many moe [excellent] \iminent~\ and fpecially fuch 
as be propre names of perfons or townes or other things 
and namely Welfh wordes : for your foote amphibrac- 
chus, of a fhort, a long and a ihort, ye haue thefe wordes 
and many like to thefe [resl/led] [delight full] [repr/fall] 
[indunter] [enanull] fo as for want of Engiilh wordes if 
your eare be not to daintie and your rules to precife, 
ye neede not be without the metricall feete of the an- 
cient Poets fuch as be moft pertinent and not fuperflu- 
ous. This is (ye will perchaunce fay) my hngular 
opinion : then ye fhall fee how well I can maintaine it. 
Firft the quantitie of a word comes either by (preelec- 
tion) without reafon or force as hath bene alledged, 
and as the auncient Greekes and Latines did in many 
wordes, but not in all, or by (election) with reafon as 
they did in fome, and not a few. And a found is 
drawen at length either by the infirmitie of the toung, 
becaufe the word or tillable is of fuch letters as hangs 
long in the palate or lippes ere he will come forth, or 
becaufe he is accented and tuned hier and fharper then 
another, whereby he fomewhat obfeureth the other fil- 
lables in the fame word that be not accented fo high, 
in both thefe cafes we will eflablifh our tillable long, 
contrariwife the fhortning of a fillable is, when his 
founde or accent happens to be heauy and flat, that is 
to fall away fpeedily, and as it were inaudible, or when 
he is made of fuch letters as be by nature flipper and 
voluble and fmoothly paffe from the mouth. And the 
vowell is alwayes more eafily deliuered then the con- 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 135 

fonant: and of confonants, the liquid e more then the- 
rmite, and a tingle confonant more then a double, and 
one more then twayne coupled together: all which 
points were obferued by the Greekes and Latines, and 
allowed for maximes in vertifying. Now if ye will 
examine thefe foure biffillables \remnani\ [remaine] 
\render] \retiei\ for an example by which ye may make 
a generall rule, and ye mail finde, that they aunfwere 
our firfl refolution. Firfl in [remnajit] [rem] bearing 
the fharpe accent and hauing his confonant abbut vpon 
another, foundes long. The tillable \nani\ being writ- 
ten with two confonants muft needs be accompted the 
fame, betides that \nanf\ by his Latin originall is long, 
viz \remanens.] Take this word [remaine] becaufe the 
laft tillable beares the fharpe accent, he is long in the 
eare, and [re] being the firft tillable, pafting obfcurely 
away with a flat accent is ihort, betides that [re] by his 
Latine originall and alfo by his ortographie is Ihort. 
This word [render] bearing the fharpe accent vpon 
[ren] makes it long, the tillable [der] falling away fwiftly 
and being alfo written with a tingle confonant or 
liquide is fhort and makes the trocheus. This word 
\raiet] hauing both tillables Aiding and flipper make 
the foote Pirrichius, becaufe if he be truly vttered, he 
beares in maner no fharper accent vpon the one 
then the other tillable, but be in effect egall in time 
and tune, as is alfo the Spo?ideus. And becaufe they 
be not written with any hard or harfh confonants, I do 
allow them both for fhort tillables, or to be vfed for 
common, according as their tituation and place with 
other words fhall be : and as I haue named to you but 
onely foure words for an example, fo may ye find out 
by diligent obferuation foure hundred if ye will. But 
of all your words biffillables the moll part naturally do 
make the foote Iambus, many the Trocheus, fewer the 
Spondeus, feweft of all the Pirrichius, becaufe in him 
the fharpe accent (if ye follow the rules of your accent, 
as we haue prefuppofed) doth make a litle oddes: and 
ye fhall find verfes made all of ?nonoftllables, and do 



136 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

•very well, but lightly they be Iambickes, bycaufe for the 
more part the accent falles fharpe vpon euery fecond 
word rather then contrariwife, as this of Sir Thomas 
Wiats. 

I finde no peace and yet mie war re is done, 
I fear e and hope, and burne and f reef e like ife. 
And fome verfes where the fharpe accent falles vpon 
the firft and third, and fo make the verfe wholly Tro- 
chaicke, as thus, 

Worke not, no nor, wifh thy friend or foes harme 
Try but, trnfi not, all that fpeake thee fo fair e. 
And fome verfes made of monofillables and biffillables 
enterlaced as this of th'Earles, 

When raging loice with extreme paine 
And this 

A fairer beafl of freJJier hue beheld I neuer none. 
And fome verfes made all of biffdlables and others 
all of triffdlables, and others of polifdlables egally in- 
creafmg and of diuers quantities, and fundry fituations, 
as in this of our owne, made to daunt the infolence of 
a beautifull woman. 

Brittle beauty bloffome daily fading 
Mome, noone, and eue in age and eke in eld 
Dangerous difdainefull pleafantly perfwadmg 
Eafie to gripe but combrous to weld 
For flender bottome hard and heauy lading 
Gay for a while, but little while durable 
Sufpicious, incertaine, irreuocable, 
O fince thou art by triall not to trufl 
IVifedome it is, and it is alfo iust 
To found theflemme before the tree be f eld 
That is, fince death will driue vs all to dujl 
To leaue thy loue ere that we be compeld. 
In which ye haue your firft verfe all of biffdlables 
and of the foot trocheus. The fecond all of mo7iofill- 
ables, and all of the foote Tambus, the third all of trif- 
fdlables, and all of the foote daclilus, your fourth of one 
biffdlable, and two monofillables interlarded, the fift of 
one monofillable and two biffillables enterlaced, and the 



£J 



OF PROPORTION. L I B. 1 1. 137 

reft of other fortes and fcituations, fome by degrees 
encreafmg, fome diminifhing: which example I haue 
fet downe to let you perceiue what pleafant numerofity 
in the meafure and difpofition of your words in a meetre 
may be contriued by curious wits and thefe with other 
like were the obferuations of the Greeke and Latine 
verfmers. 

CHAP. XIIIL [XV.] 
Of your feet of three times, and fir Ji of the Daclil. 

I Our feete of three times by prefcription of 
the Latine Grammariens are of eight fun- 
dry proportions, for fome notable differ- 
ence appearing in euery Tillable of three 
falling in a word of that fize : but becaufe 
aboue the antepenultima there was (among the Latines) 
none accent audible in any long word, therfore to de- 
uife any foote of longer meafure then of three times 
was to them but fuperfluous: becaufe all aboue the 
number of three are but compounded of their inferi- 
ours. Omitting therefore to fpeake of thefe larger 
feete, we fay that of all your feete of three times the 
Daclill is moll vfuall and fit for our vulgar meeter, 
and moil agreeable to the eare, fpecially if ye ouerlade 
not your verfe with too many of them but here and 
there enterlace a Iambus or fome other foote of two 
times to giue him grauitie and flay, as in this quadrein 
Trimeter or of three meafures. 

Render again e mie libertie 
and set your captiue free 
G/orioiis Is the vi clone 
Conquerours ufe with lemtie 
Where ye fee euery verfe is all of a meafure, and yet 
vnegall in number of fillables: for the fecond verfe is 
but of fixe fillables, where the reft are of eight. But 
the reafon is for that in three of the fame verfes are 
two Daclils a peece, which abridge two fillables in 
euery verfe : and fo maketh the longeft euen with the 
ihorteft. Ye may note befides by the firft verfe, how 



138 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

much better fome biffillable becommeth to peece out 
an other longer foote then another word doth : for in 
place of [render] if ye had fayd [re/lore] it had marred 
the Daclil, and of necefhtie driuen him out at length 
to be a verfe Iambic of foure feete, becaufe [render] is 
naturally a Trocheus and makes the firft two times of a 
daclil. [Rejlore] is naturally a Iambus, and in this 
place could not poffibly haue made a pleafant daclil. 

Now again e if ye will fay to me that thefe two words 
[libertie] and [conquer ours] be not precife Daclils by the 
Latine rule. So much will I confeffe to, but fince they 
go currant inough vpon the tongue, and be fo vfually 
pronounced, they may paffe wel inough for Daclils in 
our vulgar meeters, and that is inough for me, feeding 
but to fafhion an art, and not to finifh it: which time 
only and cuftom haue authoritie to do, fpecially in all 
cafes of language as the Poet hath wittily remembred 
in this verfe -fi volet vjus. 

Quern penes arbitrium est ei vis et norma loquendi. 

The Earle of Surrey vpon the death of Sir Thomas 
Wiat made among other this verfe Pentameter and of 
ten fillables, 

What holy graue (alas) what fepulcher 

But if I had the making of him, he mould haue bene 
of eleuen fillables and kept his meafure of hue ftill, and 
would fo haue runne more pleafantly a great deale : for 
as he is now, though he be euen he feemes odde and 
defedliue, for not well obferuing the natural accent of 
euery word, and this would haue bene foone holpen by 
inferting one monofdlable in the middle of the verfe, 
and drawing another fillable in the beginning into a 
Daclil, this word [holy] being a. good [Pirrichius] and 
very well feruing the turne, thus, 

What hoik graue a las what fit sefulcher. 
Which verfe if ye perufe throughout ye mall finde him 
after the firft daclil all Trochaick and not Iambic, nor 
of any other foot of two times. But perchance if ye 
would feeme yet more curious, in place of thefe foure 
Trocheus ye might induce other feete of three times, as 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 139 

to make the three fillables next following the daclil, the 
foote [amphimacer] the lafl word \Sepulcher\ the foote 
[amphibracns] leauing the other midle word for a [Iam- 
bus] thus. 

What holte gr due a las what fit sepulcher. 
If ye aske me further why I make (what) firfl long and 
after fhort in one verfe, to that I fatisfied you before, 
that it is by reafon of his accent fharpe in one place 
and flat in another, being a common monof liable, that 
is, apt to receiue either accent, and fo in the firfl place 
receiuing aptly the fharpe accent he is made long: 
afterward receiuing the flat accent more aptly then 
the fharpe, becaufe the fillable precedent [/as] vtterly 
diflaines him, he is made fhort and not long, and that 
with very good melodie, but to haue giuen him the 
fharpe accent and plucked it from the fillable [/as] it 
had bene to any mans eare a great difcord : for euer- 
more this word [a/as] is accented vpon the lafl, and 
that lowdly and notorioufly as appeareth by all our ex- 
clamations vfed vnder that terme. The. fame Earle of 
Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyat the firfl reformers and 
polifhers of our vulgar Poefie much affecTing the flile 
and meafures of the Italian Petrarcha, vfed the foote 
daclil very often but not many in one verfe, as in thefe, 
Full manie that in prefence of thy liuelie hed, 
Shed Ccefars teares vpon Pompeius hed, 
Th'enemie to life deflroi er of 'all kinde, 
If amd rotes faith in an hart vnfayned, 
Myne old deere enemy my froward m after. 
The fur 1 ous gone in his mofl ra ging ire. 
And many moe which if ye would not allow for dac- 
tils the verfe would halt vnleffe ye would feeme to helpe 
it contracting a fillable by vertue of the figure Synerefis 
which I thinke was neuer their meaning, nor in deede 
would haue bred any pleafure to the eare, but hindred 
the flowing of the verfe. Howfoeuer ye take it the 
daclil is commendable inough in our vulgar meetres, 
but mofl plaufible of all when he is founded vpon the 
flage, as in thefe comicall verfes mewing how well it 



140 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

becommeth all noble men and greate perfonages to be 
temperat and modefl, yea more then any meaner man, 
thus. 

Let no nobiUtie riches or heritage 
Honour or empire or earthlie dominion 
Breed in your head dnie peeuijli dpinio?i 
That ye may safer duouch dnie outi'dge. 
And in this diftique taxing the Prelate fymoniake 
(landing all vpon perfec~l daclils. 

Now manie bie money piiruey promotion 
For many mooues any hart to deuotion. 
But this aduertifement I will giue you withall, that 
if ye vie too many daclils together ye make your 
mufike too light and of no folemne grauitie fuch as the 
amorous Elegies in court naturally require, being al- 
waies either very dolefull or paffionate as the affections 
of loue enforce, in which bufmes ye mufl make your 
choife of very few words daclilique, or them that ye 
can not refufe, to diffolue and breake them into other 
feete by fuch meanes as it mail be taught hereafter : 
but chiefly in your courtly ditties take heede ye vfe not 
thefe maner of long poliftllables and fpecially that ye 
finifh not your verfe with them as [retribution'] reflitu- 
tion] remuneration [recapitulation 1 ] and fuch like : for 
they fmatch more the fchoole of common players than 
of any delicate Poet Lyricke or Elegiacke. 

CHAP. XV. [XVI.] 

Of all your other feete of three times and how well they 

would faJJiion a meeti'e in our vulgar. 

LI your other feete of three times I find no 
vfe of them in our vulgar meeters nor no 
fweetenes at all, and yet words inough to 
ferue their proportions. So as though 
they haue not hitherto bene made arti- 
ficiall, yet nowe by more curious obferuation they 
might be. Since all artes grew firfl by obferuation of 
natures proceedings and cuftome. And firfl your 
[Molojfus] being of all three long is evidently dif- 




OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 141 

couered by this word \j>e?4nttting\ The \AnapeJlus\ of 
two fhort and a long by this word [furwus\ if the next 
word beginne with a confonant. The foote \Bacchhis\ 
of a fhort and two long by this word \resistance\ the 
foote \Amphimacer\ of a long a fhort and a long by 
this word \conqnering\ the foote of \_A?nphibrachus\ of 
a fhort a long and a fhort by this word \_remember\ if 
a vowell follow. The foote \Tribrachus~\ of three fhort 
times is very hard to be made by any of our t7'ij]illables 
vnles they be compounded of the fmootheft fort of 
confonants or fillables vocals, or of three fmooth mono- 
fdlcibles, or of fome peece of a long polyfillable and 
after that fort we may with wrefting of words fhape the 
foot \Tribrachus\ rather by vfurpation then by rule, 
which neuertheles is allowed in euery primitiue arte 
and inuention : and fo it was by the Greek es and Latines 
in their firft verfifying, as if a rule mould be fet downe 
that from henceforth thefe words fhould be counted al 
Tribrachus. \enemie\ remedie\ selines\ momles\ pbiiles\ 
cruellie\ and fuch like, or a peece of this long word 
\recduerdblt\ innumerable readilie\ and others. Of all 
which manner of apt wordes to make thefe ftranger 
feet of three times which go not fo currant with our 
eare as the daciil, the maker fhould haue a good 
iudgement to know them by their manner of ortho- 
graphic and by their accent which feme moil fitly for 
euery foote, or elfe he fhoulde haue alwaies a little 
calender of them apart to vfe readily when he fhall 
neede them. But becaufe in very truth I thinke them 
but vaine and fuperftitious obferuations nothing at all 
furthering the pleafant melody of our Englifh meeter, 
I leaue to fpeake any more of them and rather wifh 
the continuance of our old maner of Poefie, fcanning 
our verfe by fillables rather than by feete, and vfmg 
moft commonly the word Iambique and fometime the 
Trochaike which ye fhall difcerne by their accents, and 
now and then a daclill keeping precifely our fymphony 
or rime without any other mincing meafures, which an 
idle inuentiue head could eafily deuife, as the former 
examples teach. 






142 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

CHAP.. XVI. [XVII.] 

Of your verfes per f eft and defeftiue, and that which the 

GrcEcians called the halfe foote. 

pHe Greekes and Latines vfed verfes in the 
odde Tillable of two fortes, which they 
called Catalefticke and Acatalefticke, that 
is odde vnder and odde ouer the mil 
•meafure of their verfe, and we in our vul- 
gar finde many of the like, and fpecially in the rimes 
of Sir Thomas Wiat, {trained perchaunce out of their 
originall, made firfl by Francis Petrarcha : as thefe 
Like vnto thefe, immeaf arable mount aines, 
So is my painefull life the burde?i of ire : 
For hie be they, and hie is my defer e 

And I of tear es, and they are full of fount aines. 
Where in your firft fecond and fourth verfe, ye may 
rind a fillable fuperfluous, and though in the firfl ye 
will feeme to helpe it, by drawing thefe three fillables, 
(Jm me su) into a daftil, in the refl it can not be fo ex- 
cufed, wherefore we mufl thinke he did it of purpofe, 
by the odde fillable to giue greater grace to his meetre, 
and we finde in our old rimes, this odde fillable, 
fometime placed in the beginning and fometimes in the 
middle of a verfe, and is allowed to go alone and to 
hang to any other fillable. But this odde fillable in our 
meetres is not the halfe foote as the Greekes and 
Latines vfed him in their verfes, and called fuch mea- 
fure pentimimeris and eptamimeris, but rather is that, 
which they called the cataleftik or maymed verfe. 
Their hemimeris or halfe foote ferued not by licence 
Poeticall or neceffitie of words, but to bewtifie and 
exornate the verfe by placing one fuch halfe foote in 
the middle Cefure, and one other in the end of the 
verfe, as they vfed all their pe7itameters elegiack : 
and not by coupling them together, but by accompt 
to make their verfe of a iufl meafure and not defectiue 
or fuperfious : our odde fillable is not altogether of 
that nature, but is in a maner drowned and fupprefl 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 143 

by the flat accent, and fhrinks away as it were inaudible 
and by that meane the odde verfe comes almofl to be 
an euen in euery mans hearing. The halfe foote of 
the auncients was referued purpofely to an vfe, and 
therefore they gaue fuch odde tillable, wmerefoeuer he 
fell the lharper accent, and made by him a notorious 
paufe as in this pentameter. 

Nil mi hi refcrlbas attdmen Ipse ve ni. 
Which in all make hue whole feete, or the verfe 
Pentameter. We in our vulgar haue not the vfe of the 
like halfe foote. 

CHAP. XIII. [XVIII] 

Of the breaking your bifflllables and polyfillables and 
when it is to be vfed. 

|Vt whether ye fuffer your tillable to receiue 
his quantitie by his accent, or by his orto- 
graphy, or whether ye keepe your bijfil- 
lable whole or whether ye breake him, all 
is one to his quantitie, and his time will 
appeare the felfe fame flill and ought not to be altered 
by our makers, vnleffe it be when fuch tillable is al- 
lowed to be common and to receiue any of both times, 
as in the dimeter, made of two fillables entier. 
extreame desire 
The firfl is a good fpondeus, the fecond a good 
iambus, and if the fame wordes be broken thus it is 
not fo pleafant. 

in ex treame de fire 
And yet the firft makes a iambus, and the fecond a 
trocheus ech tillable retayning ftill his former quantities. 
And alwaies ye muft haue regard to the fweetenes of 
the meetre, fo as if your word polyfdlable would not 
found pleafantly whole, ye fhould for the nonce 
breake him, which ye may eafily doo by inferting here 
and there one monofi 'liable among your polyfdlables, or 
by chaunging your word into another place then where 
he foundes vnpleafantly, and by breaking, turne a 
trocheus to a iambus, or contrariwife : as thu;s : 




144 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

Hollow v alias under Jiieft mown l dines 
Cr aggie cliffes bring foorth the faireft fountaines 
Thefe verfes be trochaik, and in mine eare not fo 
fvveete and harmonicall as the iambicque, thus : 
The hollowft vdls lie under hi eft mountaines 
The craggifl clifs bring forth the fair eft fountaines. 
All which verfes bee now become iambicque by 
breaking the firft biffillables , and yet alters not their 
quantities though the feete be altered : and thus, 
Reftleffe is the heart in his defer es 
Rauing after that reafon doth denie. 
Which being turned thus makes a new harmonie. 
The reftleffe heart, renues his old defTres 
Ay rauing after that reafon doth it deny. 
And following this obferuation your meetres being 
builded with polyfillables will fall diuerfly out, that is 
fome to be fpondaick, fome iambick, others daclilick, 
others trochaick, and of one mingled with another, as 
in this verfe. 

Heauie is the burden of Princes ire 
The verfe is trochaick, but being altered thus, is iam- 
bicque. 

Full heauie is the fiaife of Princes ire 
And as Sir Thomas Wiat fong in a verfe wholly 
trochaick, becaufe the wordes do beft fhape to that 
foote by their naturall accent, thus, 

Farewell lone and all thie lawes for euer 
And in this ditty of th'Erle of Surries, paffing fweete 
and harmonicall, all be Iambick. 

When raging loue with extreme paine 
So cruelly doth flraine my hart, 
And that the tear es like finds of raine 
Beare witneffe of my luofull fmart. 
Which beyng difpofed otherwise or not broken, would 
proue all trochaick, but nothing pleafant. 

Now furthermore ye are to note, that al your mono- 
fyllables may receiue the fharp accent, but not fo aptly 
one as another, as in this verfe where they ferue well 
to make him iambicque, but not trochaick. 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 145 

God gr aunt this peace may long endure 
Where the fharpe accent falles more tunably vpon 
[graunf] [peace] [long] [dure] then it would by con- 
uenion, as to accent them thus : 

God graunt-thls peace-may long-endure, 
And yet if ye will aske me the reafon, I can not tell 
it, but that it fhapes fo to myne eare, and as I thinke 
to euery other mans. And in this meeter where ye 
haue whole words biffillable vnbroken, that maintaine 
(by reafon of their accent) fundry feete, yet going one 
with another be very harmonicall. 

Where ye fee one to be a trocheus another the 
iambus, and fo entermingled not by election but by 
conftraint of their feuerall accents, which ought not to 
be altered, yet comes it to paffe that many times ye 
muft of neceflitie alter the accent of a finable, and put 
him from his naturall place, and then one fillable, of a 
word polyfillable, or one word monofdlable, will abide 
to be made fometimes long, fometimes fhort, as in this 
quadreyne of ours playd in a mery moode. 
Gene me mine frame and when I do defire 
1 Geue others theirs, and nothing that is mine 
Nor giue me that, wherio all men aspire 
Then neither gold, nor fair -e women nor wine. 
Where in your rirfl verfe thefe two words [giue] and 
[me] are accented one high th'other low, in the third 
verfe the fame words are accented contrary, and the 
reafon of this exchange is manifeft, becaufe the maker 
playes with thefe two claufes of fundry relations [giue 
me] and [giue others] fo as the monofdlable [me] being 
refpecliue to the word [others] and inferring a fubtilitie 
or wittie implication, ought not to haue the fame accent, 
as when he hath no fuch refpecl, as in this dijiik of 
ours. 

Proue me [Madame) ere ye reproue 
Meeke minds JJwuld exciife not accuse. 
In which verfe ye fee this word [reprooue,] the 
fillable [prooue] alters his fharpe accent into a flat, for 
naturally it is long in all his tingles and compoundes 

K 



146 OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 

\i'eproovc\ \approhie~\ \difprooue~\ andfo is the Tillable [cufe] 
in \excuje~\ \accufe\ \recufe\ yetinthefe verfesbyreafonone 
of them doth as it were nicke another, and haue a 
certaine extraordinary fence with all, it behoueth to 
remoue the fharpe accents from whence they are moft 
naturall, to place them where the nicke may be more 
exprefly difcouered, and therefore in this verfe where 
no fuch implication is, nor no relation it is otherwife, 
as thus. 

If ye reproue my conftancie 

I will excufe you curte/ly. 
For in this word \rep7'ooiie\ becaufe there is no extra- 
ordinary fence to be inferred, he keepeth his fharpe 
accent vpon the fillable [prooue] but in the former 
verfes becaufe they feeme to encounter ech other, they 
do thereby merite an audible and pleafant alteration 
of their accents in thofe fillables that caufe the fubtiltie. 
Of thefe maner of nicetees ye fhal finde in many places 
of our booke, but fpecially where we treate of orna- 
ment, vnto which we referre you, fauing that we thought 
good to fet down one example more to folace your 
mindes with mirth after all thefe fcholafticall preceptes, 
which can not but bring with them (fpecially to Cour- 
tiers) much tedioufneffe, and fo to end. In our Come- 
die intituled Ginecocratia : the king was fuppofed to 
be a perfon very amorous and effeminate, and therefore 
moft ruled his ordinary affaires by the aduife of women 
either for the loue he bare to their perfon s or liking he 
had to their pleafant ready witts and vtterance. Comes 
me to the Court one Pole mo n an honeft plaine man of 
the country, but rich : and hauing a fuite to the king, 
met by chaunce with one Philino, a louer of wine and 
a merry companion in Court, and praied him in that 
he was a ftranger that he would vouchfafe to tell him 
which way he were beft to worke to get his fuite, and 
who were moft in credit and fauour about the king, 
that he might feeke to them to furder his attempt. 
Philino perceyuing the plainneffe of the man, and that 
there would be fome good done with him, told Polemo7i 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 147 

that if he would well confider him for his labor he would 
bring him where he mould know the truth of all his 
demaundes by the fentence of the Oracle. Polemon 
gaue him twentie crownes, Philino brings him into a 
place where behind an arras cloth hee himfelfe fpake 
in manner of an Oracle in thefe meeters, for fo did all 
the Sybils and fothfaiers in old times giue their anfwers. 

Your bejl way to worke - and marke my words well, 

Not money : nor many, 

Nor any : but any, 

Not weemen, but weemen beare the bell. 
Polemon will not what to make of this doubtful 
fpeach, and not being lawfull to importune the oracle 
more then once in one matter, conceyued in his head 
the pleafanter conftruclion, and ftacke to it : and hau- 
ing at home a fayre young damfell of eighteene yeares 
old to his daughter, that could very well behaue her 
felfe in countenance and alfo in her language, apparelled 
her as gay as he could, and brought her to the Court, 
where Philino harkning daily after the euent of this 
matter, met him, and recommended his daughter to 
the Lords, who perceiuing her great beauty and other 
good parts, brought her to the King, to whom me ex- 
hibited her fathers fupplication, and found fo great 
fauour in his eye, as without any long delay me obtained 
her fute at his hands. Polemon by the diligent follicit- 
ing of his daughter, wanne his purpofe : Phili?io gat a 
good reward and vfed the matter fo, as howfoeuer the 
oracle had bene conftrued, he could not haue receiued 
blame nor difcredit by the fucceffe, for euery waies it 
would haue proued true, whether Polemons daughter 
had obtayned the fute, or not obtained it. And the 
fubtiltie lay in the accent and Ortographie of thefe two 
wordes \any\ and \wee7neii\ for \_any\ being deuided 
founds [a nie or neere perfon to the king: and [weemen 
being diuided foundes wee men, and not \weemen 
and fo by this meane Philino ferued all turnes anc 
fhifted himfelfe from blame, not vnlike the tale of the 
Pvattlemoufe who in the warres proclaimed betweene 



148 



OF PROPORTION. LIB. II. 



the foure footed beafts, and the birdes, beyng fent for 

by the Lyon to be at his mufters, excufed himfelfe for 

that he was a foule and flew with winges : and beyng 

fent for by the Eagle to feme him, fayd that he was a 

foure footed beafl, and by that craftie cauill efcaped 

the danger of the wanes, and fhunned the feruice of 

both Princes. And euer fmce fate at home by the 

fires fide, eating vp the poore husbandmans 

baken, halfe loft for lacke of a good 

hufwifes looking too. 



FINIS. 




THETHIRDBOOKE, 

OF ORNAMENT. 




CHAP. I. 

Of Ornament PoeticalL 

| S no doubt the good proportion of any- 
thing doth greatly adorne and com- 
mend it and right fo our late re- 
membred proportions doe to our 
vulgar Poefie : fo is there yet re- 
quisite to the perfection of this arte, 
another maner of exornation, which 
refleth in the fafhioning of our 
makers language and ftile, to fuch purpofe as it may 
delight and allure as well the mynde as the eare of the 
hearers with a certaine noueltie and ftrange maner of 
conueyance, difguifmg it no litle from the ordinary and 
accuflomed : neuertheleffe making it nothing the more 
vnfeemely or misbecomming, but rather decenter and 
more agreable to any ciuill eare and vnderftanding. 
And as we fee in thefe great Madames of honour, be 
they for perfonage or otherwife neuer fo comely and 
bewtifull, yet if they want their courtly habillements 
or at leaflwife fuch other apparell as cuftome and ciuil- 
itie haue ordained to couer their naked bodies, would 
be halfe afhamed or greatly out of countenaunce to be 



150 OF ORNAMENT. LIB; III. 

feen in that fort, and perchance do then thinke them- 
felues more amiable in euery mans eye, when they be 
in their richefl attire, fuppofe of filkes or tyffewes and 
coftly embroderies, then when they go in cloth or in 
any other plaine and fimple apparell. Euen fo cannot 
our vulgar Poefie mew it felfe either gallant or gor- 
gious, if any lymme be left naked and bare and not 
clad in his kindly clothes and coulours, fuch as may 
conuey them fomwhat out of fight, that is from the 
common courfe of ordinary fpeach and capacitie of the 
vulgar iudgement, and yet being artificially handled 
muft needes yeld it much more bewtie and commen- 
dation. This ornament we fpeake of is giuen to it by 
figures and figuratiue fpeaches, which be the flow r ers 
as it were and coulours that a Poet fetteth vpon his 
language of arte, as the embroderer doth his flone and 
perle, or paffements of gold vpon the ftuffe of a Princely 
garment, or as th' excellent painter beftoweth the rich 
Orient coulours vpon his table of pourtraite : fo neuer- 
theleffe as if the fame coulours in our arte of Poefie 
(as well as in thofe other mechanicall artes) be not 
tempered, or not well layd, or be vfed in exceffe, or 
neuer fo litle difordered or mifplaced, they not only 
giue it no maner of grace at all, but rather do disfigure 
the ftuffe and fpill the whole workman fhip taking 
away all bewtie and good liking from it, no leffe then 
if the crimfon tainte, which mould be laid vpon a Ladies 
lips, or right in the center of her cheek es mould by 
fome ouerfight or mifhap be applied to her forhead or 
chinne, it would make (ye would fay) but a very ridi- 
culous bewtie, wherfore the chief prayfe and cunning 
of our Poet is in the difcreet vfmg of his figures, as the 
skilfull painters is in the goodconueyance of his coulours 
and fhadowing traits of his penfill, with a delectable 
varietie, by all meafure and iuft proportion, and > in 
places moft aptly to be bellowed. 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. I'll 151 

CHAP. II. 
Haw our writing and f peaches publike ought to be fgu ratine, 

and if they be not doe greatly dif grace the caufe and 
purpofe of the fpeaker and writer. 

|Vt as it hath bene alwayes reputed a great 
fault to vfe liguratiue fpeaches foolifhly 
and indifcretly, fo is it efleemed no 

lefie an imperfection in mans vtterance, 
to haue none vfe of figure at all. fpe- 
cially in our writing and fpeaches publike, making 
them but as our ordinary talke, then which no- 
thing can be more vnfauourie and farre from all ciui- 
litie. I remember in the firit yeare of Queenes Maries 
raigne a Knight of Yorkihire was chofen fpeaker 
of the Parliament, a good gentleman and wife, in the 
affaires of his fhire, and not vnlearned in the lawes of 
the Realme, but as well for fome lack of his teeth, as 
for want of language nothing well fpoken, which at 
that time and bulinefie was moft behooftull for him to 
haue bene : this man after he had made his Oration to 
the Queene ; which ye know is of courfe to be done 
at the firfl affembly of both houfes ; a bencher of the 
Temple both well learned and very eloquent, returning 
from the Parliament houfe asked another gentleman 
his frend how he liked M. Speakers Oration : mary 
quoth th 'other, me thinks I heard not a better ale- 
houfe tale told this feuen yeares. This happened 
becaufe the good old Knight made no difference be- 
tweene an Oration or publike fpeach to be deiiuered 
to th'eare of a Princes Maieftie and flate of a Realme, 
then he would haue done of an ordinary tale to be told 
at his table in the countrey, wherein all men know the 
oddes is very great. And though graue and wife 
counfellours in their confultations doe not vfe much 
fuperfluous eloquence, and alfo in their iudiciall hear- 
ings do much miilike all fcholafticall rhetoricks : yet 
in fuch a cafe as it maybe (and as this Parliament was)' 
if the Lord Chancelour of England or Archbifhop of 



152 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Canterbury himfelfe were to fpeake, he ought to doe it 
cunningly and eloquently, which can not be without 
the vfe of figures : and neuertheleffe none impeach- 
ment or blemilh to the grauitie of their perfons or of 
the caufe : wherein I report me to them that knew Sir 
Nicholas Bacon Lord keeper of the great Seale, or the 
now Lord Treaforer of England, and haue bene con- 
uerfant with their fpeaches made in the Parliament 
houfe and Starrechamber. From whofe lippes I haue 
feene to proceede more graue and naturall eloquence, 
then from all the Oratours of Oxford or Cambridge, but 
all is as it is handled, and maketh no matter whether 
the fame eloquence be naturall to them or artificiall 
(though I thinke rather naturall) yet were they knowen 
to be learned and not vnskilfull of th'arte, when they 
were yonger men : and as learning and arte teacheth 
a fchollar to fpeake, fo doth it alfo teach a counfellour, 
and afwell an old man as a yong, and a man in 
authoritie, afwell as a priuate perfon, and a pleader af- 
well as a preacher, euery man after his fort and calling 
as beft becommeth : and that fpeach which becommeth 
one, doth not become another, for maners of fpeaches, 
fome ferue to work in exceffe, fome in mediocritie, 
fome to graue purpofes, fome to light, fome to be Ihort 
and brief, fome to be long, fome to ftirre vp affections, 
fome to pacifie and appeafe them, and thefe common 
defpifers of good vtterance, which refteth altogether 
in figuratiue fpeaches, being well vfed whether it come 
by nature or by arte or by exercife, they be but certaine 
groffe ignorance of whom it is truly fpoken fcientia non 
habet inimicum nifi ignorantem. I haue come to the 
Lord Keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon, and found him fitting 
in his gallery alone with the works of Qidntilian before 
him, in deede he was a moil eloquent man, and of rare 
learning and wifedome, as euer I knew England to 
breed, and one that ioyed as much in learned men and 
men of good witts. A Knight of the Queenes priuie 
chamber, once intreated a noble woman of the Court, 
being in great fauour about her Maieflie (to th'intent 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. Ill, 153 

to remoue her from a certaine difpleafure, which by 
fmifter opinion me had concerned againil a gentleman 
his friend) that it would pleafe her to heare him fpeake 
in his own caufe, and not to condemne him vpon 
his aduerfaries report : God forbid faid me, he is to wife 
for me to talke with, let him goe and fatisfie fuch a 
man naming him : why quoth the Knight againe, had 
your Ladyfhip rather heare a man talke like a foole or 
like a wife man ? This was becaufe the Lady was a title 
peruerfe,and not difpofed to reforme her felfe by hearing 
reafon, which none other can fo well beate into the 
ignorant head, as the well fpoken and eloquent man. 
And becaufe I am fo farre waded into this difcourfe 
of eloquence and figuratiue fpeaches, I will tell you 
what hapned on a time my felfe being prefent when 
certaine Doclours of the ciuil law were heard in a 
litigious caufe betwixt a man and his wife : before a great 
Magiftfat who (as they can tell that knew him) was a 
man very well learned and graue, but fomewhat fowre, 
and of no plaufible vtterance : the gentlemans chaunce, 
was to fay : my Lord the fimple woman is not fo much 
to blame as her lewde abbettours, who by violent per- 
fwalions haue lead her into this wilfulneffe. Quoth 
the iudge, what neede fuch eloquent termes in this 
place, the gentleman replied, doth your Lordfhip 
miflike the terme, \violenf\ and me thinkes I fpeake it to 
great purpofe : for I am fure me would neuer haue 
done it, but by force of perfwafion : and if perfwafions 
were not very violent, to the minde of man it could not 
haue wrought fo ftrange an effect as we read that it 
did once in ^Egypt, and would haue told the whole 
tale at large, if the Magiftrate had not paffed it ouer 
very pleafantly. Now to tell you the whole matter as 
the gentleman intended, thus it was. There came 
into ^Egypt a notable Oratour, whofe name was 
Hegefias who inueyed fo much againil the incommod- 
ities of this tranfitory life, and fo highly commended 
death the difpatcher of all euils ; as a great number 
of his hearers deftroyed themfelues, fome with weapon, 



154 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

fome with poyfon, others by drowning and hanging 
themfelues to be rid out of this vale of mifery, in fo 
much as it was feared lead many moe of the people 
would haue mifcaried by occafion of his perfwafions, 
if king Ptolome had not made a publicke proclamation, 
that the Oratour mould auoyde the countrey, and no 
more be allowed to fpeake in any matter. Whether 
now perfwafions, may not be faid violent and forcible 
to fimple myndes in fpeciall, I referre it to all mens 
iudgements that heare the dory. At lead waies, I 
finde this opinion, confirmed by a pretie deuife or em- 
bleme that Luciamis alleageth he faw in the pourtrait 
of Hercules within the Citie of Marfeills in Prouence : 
where they had figured a ludie old man with a long 
chayne tyed by one end at his tong, by the other end 
at the peoples eares, who dood a farre of and feemed 
to be drawen to him by the force of that chayne 
faftned to his tong, as who would fay, by force of his 
perfwafions. And to mew more plainly that eloquence 
is of great force (and not as many men thinke amiffe) 
the propertie and gift of yong men onely, but rather 
of old men, and a thing which better becommeth hory 
haires then beardleffe boyes, they feeme to ground it 
vpon this reafon : age (fay they and mod truly) brings 
experience, experience bringeth wifedome, long life 
yeldes long vfe and much exercife of fpeach, exercife 
and cudome with wifedome, make an affured and vol- 
luble vtterance : fo is it that old men more then any 
other fort fpeake mod grauely, wifely, affuredly, and 
plaufibly, which partes are all that can be required in 
perfite eloquence, and fo in all deliberations of impor- 
tance where counfellours are allowed freely to opyne 
and mew their conceits, good perfwafion is no leffe re- 
quifite then fpeach it felfe : for in great purpofes to 
fpeake and not to be able or likely to perfwade, is a 
vayne thing : now let vs returne backe to fay more of 
this Poeticall ornament. 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 155 



CHAP. III. 

How ornament Poeticall is of two fortes according to the 
double veriue and efftcacie of figures. 

His ornament then is of two fortes, one to 
fatisne and delight th'eare onely by a 
goodly outward mew fet vpon the matter 
with wordes, and fpeaches fmothly and 
tunably running : another by certaine in- 
tendments or fence of fuch wordes and fpeaches in- 
wardly working a ftirre to the mynde : that firft qualitie 
the Greeks called Enargia, of this word argos, becaufe 
it geueth a glorious luftre and light. This latter they 
called Energia of ergon, becaufe it wrought with a 
ftrong and vertuous operation; and figure breedeth 
them both, fome feruing to giue gloffe onely to a lan- 
guage, fome to geue it efficacie by fence, and fo by 
that meanes fome of them ferae th'eare onely, fome 
ferue the conceit onely and not th'eare : there be of 
them alfo that ferue both turnes as common feruitours 
appointed for th'one and th'other purpofe, which fhalbe 
hereafter fpoken of in place : but becaufe we haue 
alleaged before that ornament is but the good or rather 
bewtifull habite of language or ftile, and figuratiue 
fpeaches the inftrument wherewith we burnifh our 
language fafhioning it to this or that meafure and pro- 
portion, whence finally refulteth a long and continuall 
phrafe or maner of writing or fpeach, which we call 
by the name of ftile: Ave wil firft fpeake of language, 
then of ftile, laftly of figure, and declare their vertue 
and differences, and alfo their vfe and beft application, 
and what portion in exornation euery of them bringeth 
to the bewtifying of this Arte. 




156 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

CHAP. IIII. 

Of Language. 

'Peach is not naturall to man failing for his 
onely habilitie to fpeake, and that he is 
by kinde apt to vtter all his conceits with 
founds and voyces diuerfmed many maner 
of wayes, by meanes of the many and fit 
inftruments he hath by nature to that purpofe, as a 
broad and voluble tong, thinne and mouable lippes, 
teeth euen and not magged, thick ranged, a round 
vaulted pallate, and a long throte, befides an excellent 
capacitie of wit that maketh him more difciplinable 
and imitatiue then any other creature : then as to the 
forme and action of his fpeach, it commeth to him by 
arte and teaching, and by vfe or exercife. But after a 
fpeach is fully fafhioned to the common vnderftanding, 
and accepted by confent of a whole countrey and 
nation, it is called a language, and receaueth none 
allowed alteration, but by extraordinary occafions by 
little and little, as it were infenfibly bringing in of many 
corruptions that creepe along with the time : of all 
which matters, we haue more largely fpoken in our 
bookes of the originals and pedigree of the Englifh 
tong. Then when I fay language, I meane the fpeach 
wherein the Poet or maker writeth be it Greek or 
Latine, or as our cafe is the vulgar Englifh, and when 
it is peculiar vnto a countrey it is called the mother 
fpeach of that people : the Greekes terme it Idioma : 
fo is ours at this day the Norman Englifh. Before 
the Conqueft of the Normans it was the Anglefaxon, 
and before that the Britifh, which as fome will, is at 
this day, the Walfh, or as others affirm e the Cornifh : 
I for my part thinke neither of both, as they be now 
fpoken and p[r]onounced. This part in our maker or 
Poet muft be heedyly looked vnto, that it be naturall, 
pure, and the moft vfuall of all his countrey : and for 



J the fame purpofe rather that which is fpoken in the 
kings Court, or in the good townes and Cities within 






OF ORNAMENT. LIB. TIL 157 

the land, then in the marches and frontiers, or in port 
townes, where ftraungers haunt for trafhke fake, or yet 
in Vniuerfities where Schollers vfe much peeuifh af- 
fectation of words out of the primatiue languages, or 
finally, in any vplandifh village or corner of a Realme, 
where is no refort but of poore rufticall or vnciuill 
people : neither mall he follow the fpeach of a craftes 
man or carter, or other of the inferiour fort, though he 
be inhabitant or bred in the bell towne and Citie in 
this Reahne, for fuch perfons doe abufe good fpeaches 
by ftrange accents or ill fhapen foundes, and falfe 
ortographie. But he mall follow generally the better 
brought vp fort, fuch as the Greekes call [charientes] 
men ciuill and gracioufly behauoured and bred. Our 
maker therfore at thefe dayes fhall not follow Piers 
plowman nor Gower nor Lydgate nor yet Chaucer, for 
their language is now out of vfe with vs : neither fhall 
he take the termes of Northern-men, fuch as they vfe 
in dayly talke, whether they be noble men or gentle- 
men, or of their bell clarkes all is a matter : nor in 
effect any fpeach vfed beyond the riuer of Trent, 
though no man can deny but that theirs is the purer 
Englifh Saxon at this day, yet it is not fo Courtly nor fo 
currant as our Southerne Englifh is, no more is the 
far Wellerne mans fpeach : ye fhall therefore take the 
vfuall fpeach of the Court, and that of London and 
the fhires lying about London within lx. myles, and 
not much aboue. I fay not this but that in euery 
fhyre of England there be gentlemen and others that 
fpeake but fpecially write as good Southerne as we of 
Middlefex or Surrey do, but not the common people of 
euery fhire, to whom the gentlemen, and alfo their 
learned clarkes do for the moil part condefcend, but 
herein we are already ruled by th' Englifh Dictionaries 
and other bookes written by learned men, and there- 
fore it needeth none other direction in that behalfe. 
Albeit peraduenture fome final! admonition be not 
impertinent, for we finde in our Englifh writers many 
wordes and fpeaches amendable, and ye fhall fee in 



158 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

fome many inkhorne termes fo ill affected brought in 
by men of learning as preachers and fchoolemafters : 
and many ftraunge termes of other languages by 
Secretaries and Marchaunts and trauailours, and many 
darke wordes and not vfuall nor well founding, though 
they be dayly fpoken in Court. Wherefore great heed 
muft be taken by our maker in this point that his 
choife be good. And peraduenture the writer hereof 
be in that behalfe no leffe faultie then any other, vfing 
many ftraunge and vnaccuftomed wordes and borrowed 
from other languages : and in that refpecl him felfe 
no meete Magiftrate to reforme the fame errours in 
any other perfon, but fmce he is not vnwilling to 
acknowledge his owne fault, and can the better tell 
how to amend it, he may feem a more excufable cor- 
rectour of other mens : he intendeth therefore for an 
indifferent way and vniuerfall benefite to taxe him 
felfe firft and before any others. 

Thefe be words vfed by th'author in this prefent 
treatife, fcientificke, but with fome reafon, for it anfwer- 
eth the word mechanically which no other word could 
haue done fo properly, for when hee fpake of all artifi- 
cers which reft either in fcience or in handy craft, it 
followed neceffarilie that faentiftque mould be coupled 
with mechanicall: or els neither of both to haue bene 
allowed, but in their places : a man of fcience liberall, 
and a handicrafts man, which had not bene fo cleanly 
a fpeech as the other Maior-domo\ in truth this word 
is borrowed of the Spaniard and Italian, and therefore 
new and not vfuall, but to them that are acquainted with 
the affaires of Court : and fo for his iolly magnificence 
(as this cafe is) may be accepted among Courtiers, for 
whom this is fpecially written. A man might haue faid 
in fleade of Maio?'-domo, the French word (maistre 
d'hoftell) but ilfauouredly, or the right Englifh word 
{Lord Steward.} But me thinks for my owne opinion 
this word Maior-do?no though he be borrowed, is more 
acceptable than any of the reft, other men may iudge 
otherwife. Politien, this word alfo is receiued from the 



OF" ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 159 

Frenchmen, but at this day vfuall in Court and with all 
good Secretaries : and cannot finde an Englifh word to 
match him, for to haue faid a man politique, had not 
bene fo wel : bicaufe in trueth that had bene no more 
than to haue faid a ciuil perfon. Politien is rather a 
furueyour of ciuilitie than ciuil, and a publique minifter 
or Counfeller in the ftate. Ye haue alfo this worde 
Conduicl, a French word, but well allowed of vs, and 
long fmce vfuall, it foundes fomewhat more than this 
word (leading) for it is applied onely to the leading of 
a Captaine, and not as a little boy mould leade a blinde 
man, therefore more proper to the cafe when he faide, 
conduicl of whole armies: ye finde alfo this word 
Idiome, taken from- the Greekes, yet feruing aptly, when 
a man wanteth to expreffe fo much vnles it be in two 
words, which furpluffage to auoide, we are allowed to 
draw in other words fmgle, and afmuch frgnificatiue : 
this word fignificatiue is borrowed of the La tine and 
French, but to vs brought in firft by fome Noble-mans 
Secretarie, as I thinke, yet doth fo well ferae the 
turne, as it could not now be fpared : and many more 
like vfurped Latine and French words: as, Methode, 
methodical!, placation, function, affubtilin°, refining, com- 
pendious, prolixe. figu ratine, inueigle. A terme borrowed 
of our common Lawyers. i??preffion, alfo a new terme, 
but well expreffmg the matter, and more than our 
Englifh word. Thefe words, Numerous, numerofitee, 
metrical!, harmonica!!, but they cannot be refufed, fpe- 
cially in this place for defcription of the arte. Alfo ye 
finde thefe words, penetrate, penetrable, indignitie, which 
I cannot fee how we may fpare them, whatfoeuer fault 
wee finde with Ink-horne termes: for our fp each want- 
eth wordes to fuch fence fo well to be vfed : yet in 
ileade of indignitie, yee haue vnworthineffe : and for 
penetrate, we may fay peei'ce, and that a French terme 
alfo, or h-oche, or enter into with violence, but not fo 
well founding as penetrate. Item, fauage, for wilde 
obfcure, for darke. Item thefe words, declination, de- 
lineation, dimention, are fcholafticall termes in deede, 



160 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

and yet very proper. But peraduenture (and I could 
bring a reafon for it) many other like words borrowed 
out of the Latin and French, were not fo well to be 
allowed by vs, as thefe words, audacious, for bold: 
facuiiditie, for eloquence: egregious ; for great or notable : 
implete, for replenilhed : attemptat, for attempt : compat- 
ible, for agreeable in nature, and many more. But 
herein the noble Poet Horace hath faid inough to fatis- 
fie vs all in thefe few verfes. 

Multa renafcentur quce iam cecidere cadent que 
Qiice nuncfwit in honor e vocabula fi volet vfus 
Quern penes arbitrium eft et vis et norma loquendi. 
Which I haue thus englifhed, but nothing with fo good 
grace, nor fo briefly as the Poet wrote. 

Many a word yfalne JJiall eft arife 
And fitch as now bene held in hieft prife 
Will fall as f aft, when vfe and cuftome will 
Onely vmpiers of f peach, for force and skill. 

CHAP. V. 

Of Stile. 

ITile is a conftant and continual phrafe or 
tenour of fpeaking and writing, extending 
to the whole tale or proceffe of the poeme 
or hiflorie, and not properly to any peece 
or member ot a tale: but is of words 
fpeeches and fentences together, a certaine contriued 
forme and qualitie, many times naturall to the writer, 
many times his peculier by election and arte, and fuch 
as either he keepeth by skill, or holdeth on by ignor- 
ance, and will not or peraduenture cannot eafily alter 
into any other. So we fay that Ciceroes flile, and 
Salufls were not one, nor Cefars and Liuies, nor Homers 
and Hefwdus, nor Herodotus and Theucidides, nor 
Euripides and Ariftophones, nor Erafmus and Budeus 
ftiles. And becaufe this continuall courfe and manner 
of writing or fpeech fheweth the matter and difpofition 
of the writers minde, more than one or few words or 
fentences can mew, therefore there be that haue called 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 161 

ftile, the image of man \_mentis chara£ler\ for man is 
but his minde, and as his minde is tempered and quali- 
fied, fo are his fpeeches and language at large, and his 
inward conceits be the mettall of his minde, and his 
manner of vtterance the very warp and wooTe of his 
conceits, more plaine, or bufie and intricate, or other- 
wife affected after the rate. Moil men fay that not any 
one point in all Phifiognomy is fo certaine, as to iudge 
a mans manners by his eye : but more affuredly in mine 
opinion, by his dayly maner of fpeech and ordinary 
writing. For if the man be graue, his fpeech and ftile 
is graue: if light-headed, his ftile and language alfo 
light : if the minde be haughtie and hoate, the fpeech 
and ftile is alfo vehement and ftirring: if it be colde 
and temperate, the ftile is alfo very modeft: if it be 
humble, or bafe and meeke, fo is alfo the language and 
ftile. And yet peraduenture not altogether fo, but that 
euery mans ftile is for the moft part according to 
the matter and fubiect of the writer, or fo ought 
to be, and conformable thereunto. Then againe 
may it be faid as wel, that men doo chufe their 
fubiecls according to the mettal of their minds, 
and therfore a high minded man chufeth him high and 
lofty matter to write of. The bafe courage, matter 
bafe and lowe, the meane and modeft mind, meane 
and moderate matters after the rate. Howfoeuer it be, 
we finde that vnder thefe three principall complexions 
(if I may with leaue fo terme them) high, meane and 
bafe ftile, there be contained many other humors or 
qualities of ftile, as the plaine and obfcure, the rough 
and fmoth,. the facill and hard, the plentifull and 
barraine, the rude and eloquent, the ftrong and feeble, 
the vehement and cold ftiles, all which in their euill 
are to be reformed, and the good to be kept and vfed. 
But generally to haue the ftile decent and comely 
it behooueth the maker or Poet to follow the nature of 
his fubiect, that is if his matter be high and loftie that 
the ftile be fo to, if meane, the ftile alfo to be meane, 
if bafe, the ftile humble and bafe accordingly : and 

L 



162 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

they that do otherwife vfe it, applying to meane 
matter, hie and loftie flile, and to hie matters, flile 
eyther meane or bafe, and to the bafe matters, the 
meane or hie flile, do vtterly difgrace their poefie and 
fhew themfelues nothing skilfull in their arte, nor 
hauing regard to the decencie, which is the chiefe 
praife of any writer. Therefore to ridde all louers of 
learning from that errour, I will as neere as I can fet 
downe, which matters be hie and loftie, which be but 
meane, and which be low and bafe, to the intent the 
ftiles may be fafhioned to the matters, and keepe their 
decorum and good proportion in euery refpecl : I am 
not ignorant that many good clerkes be contrary to 
mine opinion, and fay that the loftie flyle may be 
decently vfed in a meane and bafe fubiecl and con- 
trariwife, which I do in parte acknowledge, but with a 
reafonable qualification. For Homer hath fo vfed it in 
his trifling worke of BatrachomyomacJiia : that is in his 
treatife of the warre betwixt the frogs and the mice. 
Virgill alfo in his bucolickes, and in his georgicks, whereof 
the one is counted meane, the other bafe, that is the 
hufbandmans difcourfes and the fhepheards, but here- 
unto ferueth a reafon in my fimple conceite : for firft 
to that trifling poeme of Homer, though the frog and 
the moufe be but litle and ridiculous beafts, yet to treat 
of warre is an high fubiecl, and a thing in euery re- 
fpecl terrible and daungerous to them that it alights 
on : and therefore of learned dutie asketh martiall 
grandiloquence, if it be fet foorth in his kind and 
nature of warre, euen betwixt the bafeft creatures that 
can be imagined : fo alfo is the Ante or pifmire, and 
they be but little creeping things, not perfect beafts, 
but iiifeft, or wormes : yet in defcribing their nature 
and inftinct, and their manner of life approching to 
the forme of a common-welth, and their properties 
not vnlike to the vertues of moft excellent gouernors 
and captaines, it asketh a more maieftie of fpeach then 
would the defcription of an other beaftes life or nature, 
and perchance of many matters perteyning vnto the 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 163 

bafer fort of men, becaufe it refembleth the hiflorie of 
a ciuill regiment, and of them all the chiefe and moll 
principall which is Monarchie : fo alfo in his bucolicks, 
which are but paftorall fpeaches and the bafefl of any 
other poeme in their owne proper nature : Virgill vfed 
a fomewhat fwelling flile when he came to infmuate 
the birth of Marcelhts heire apparant to the Emperour 
Augujius, as child to his filler, afpiring by hope and 
greatnes of the houfe, to the fucceffion of the Empire, 
and eftablifhment thereof in that familie : whereupon 
Virgill could no leffe then to vfe fuch manner of 
flile, whatfoeuer condition the poeme were of and this 
was decent, and no fault or blemilh, to confound the 
tennors of the ftiles for that caufe. But now when I 
remember me againe that this Eglogue, (for I haue read 
it fomewhere) was concerned by Offanian th'Emperour 
to be written to the honour oiPollio a citizen of Rome, 
and of no great nobilitie, the fame was mifliked againe 
as an implicatiue, nothing decent nor proportionable 
to Pollio his fortunes and calling, in which refpect I 
might fay likewife the flile was not to be fuch as if it 
had bene for the Emperours owne honour, and thofe 
of the bloud imperial!, then which fubiec~l there could 
not be among the Romane writers an higher nor grauer 
to treat vpon : fo can I not be remoued from mine 
opinion, but ftill me thinks that in all decencie the flile 
ought to conforme with the nature of the fubiecl, oth erwife 
if a writer will feeme toobferue nodecorum at all, nor paffe 
how he fafhion his tale to his matter, who doubteth but 
he may in the lightefl caufe fpeake like a Pope, and in 
the grauefl matters prate like a parrat, and finde wordes 
and phrafes ynough to feme both turnes, and neither of 
them commendably, for neither is all that may be written 
of Kings and Princes fuch as ought to keepe a high 
flile, nor all that may be written vpon a fhepheard to 
keepe the low, but according to the matter reported, 
if that be of high or bafe nature : for euery pety plea- 
fure, and vayne delight of a king are not to [be] ac- 
compted high matter for the height of his eflate, but 
meane and perchaunce very bafe and vile : nor fo a 



1 64 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Poet or hiftoriographer, could decently with a high 
flile reporte the vanities of Nero, the ribaudries of Cali- 
gula, the idlenes of Domitian, and the riots of Helio- 
gabalus. But well the magnanimitie and honorable 
ambition of Ccefar, the profperities of Augujlus, the 
grauitie of Tiberius, the bountie of Traiane, the wife- 
dome of Aurelius, and generally all that which con- 
cerned the higheft honours of Emperours, their birth, 
alliaunces, gouernement, exploits in warre and peace, 
and other publike affaires : for they be matter ftately 
and high, and require a ilile to be lift vp and aduaunced 
by choyfe of wordes, phrafes, fentences, and figures, 
high, loftie, eloquent, and magnifik in proportion : fo 
be the meane matters, to be caried with all wordes and 
fpeaches of fmothneffe and pleafant moderation, and 
finally the bafe things to be holden within their teder, 
by a low, myld, and fimple maner of vtterance, creep- 
ing rather than clyming, and marching rather then 
mounting vpwardes, with the wings of the ftately fub- 
iects and ilile. 

CHAP. VI. 

Of the high, low, and meane fubiecl. 

He matters therefore that concerne the Gods 
and diuine things are higheft of all other 
to be couched in writing, next to them 
the noble gefts and great fortunes of Prin- 
ces, and the notable accidents of time, as 
the greateft affaires of war and peace, thefe be all high 
fubiecles, and therefore are delmered ouer to the Poets 
Hymnickda\& hiftoricall who be occupied either in diuine 
laudes, or in heroicall reports : the meane matters be 
thofe that concerne meane men their life and bufmes, 
as lawyers, gentlemen, and marchants, good houfhold- 
ers and honeft Citizens, and which found neither to 
matters of ftate nor of warre, nor leagues, nor great 
alliances, but fmatch all the common conuerfation, as 
of the ciuiller and better fort of men : the bafe and 
low matters be the doings of the common artificer, fer- 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 165 

uingman, yeoman, groome, husbandman, day-labourer, 
failer, fhepheard, fwynard, and fuch like of homely cal- 
ling, degree and bringing vp: fo that in euery of the 
fayd three degrees, not the felfe fame vertues be egally 
to be prayfed nor the fame vices, egally to be difpraifed, 
nor their loues, manages, quarels, contracts and other 
behauiours, be like high nor do require to be fet fourth 
with the like flile : but euery one in his degree and de- 
cencie. which made that all hymnes and hiftories, and 
Tragedies, were written in the high flile : all Comedies 
and Enterludes and other common Poefies of loues, 
and fuch like in the meane flile, all Eglognes and paflo- 
rall poemes in the low T and bafe flile, otherwife they 
had bene vtterly difproporcioned : likewife for the fame 
caufe fome phrafes and figures be onely peculiar to the 
high flile, fome to the bafe or meane, fome common to 
all three, as fhalbe declared more at large hereafter 
when we come to fpeake of figure and phrafe : alfo fome 
wordes and fpeaches and fentences doe become the 
high flile, that do not become th'other two. And con- 
trariwife, as fhalbe faid when we talke of words and 
fentences : finally fome kinde of meafure and concord, 
doe not befeeme the high flile, that well become the 
meane and low, as we haue faid fpeaking of concord 
and meafure. But generally the high flile is difgraced 
and made foolifh and ridiculous by all w r ordes affected, 
counterfait, and purled vp, as it were a windball carry- 
ing more countenance then matter, and can not be 
better refembled then to thefe midfommer pageants in 
London, where to make the people wonder are fet forth 
great and vglie Gyants marching as if they were aliue, 
and armed at all points, but within they are fluffed full 
of brown e paper and tow, which the fhrewd boyes vnder- 
peering, do guilefully difcouer and turne to a great de- 
rifion : alfo all darke and vnaccuflomed wordes, or 
ruflicall and homely, and fentences that hold too much 
of the mery and light, or infamous and vnfhamefafl are 
to be accounted of the fame fort, for fuch fpeaches be- 
come not Princes, nor great eftates, nor them that write 




166 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

of their doings to vtter or report and intermingle with 
the graue and weightie matters. 

CHAP. VII 

Of Figures and figuratiue speaches. 

JS figures be the inftruments of ornament in 
euery language, fo be they alfo in a forte 
abufes or rather trefpaffes in fpeach, be- 
caufe they paffe the ordinary limits of 
common vtterance, and be occupied of 
purpofe to deceiue the eare and alfo the minde, draw- 
ing it from plainneffe and fimplicitie to a certaine 
doubleneffe, whereby our talke is the more guilefull 
and abufmg, for what els is your Metaphor but an inuer- 
fion of fence by tranfport ; your allegorie by a duplici- 
tie of meaning or diffimulation vnder couert and darke 
intendments : one while fpeaking obfcurely and in 
riddle called j&nigma : another while by common pro- 
uerbe or Adage called Paremia : then by merry skoffe 
called I?' o ilia : then by bitter tawnt called Sarcafjnus : 
then by periphrafe or circumlocution when all might 
be faid in a word or two : then by incredible compari- 
son giuing credit, as by your Hyperbole, and many other 
waies feeking to inueigle and appaffionate the mind : 
which thing made the graue iudges Areopagites (as I 
find written) to forbid all manner of figuratiue fpeaches 
to be vfed before them in their confrftorie of Iullice, as 
meere illufions to the minde, and wrefters of vpright 
iudgement, faying that to allow fuch manner of forraine 
and coulored talke to make the iudges affectioned, 
were all one as if the carpenter before he began to 
fquare his timber would make his fquire crooked : in 
fo much as the ftraite and vpright mind of a Iudge is 
the very rule of iuftice till it be peruerted by affection, 
This no doubt is true and was by them grauely con- 
sidered : but in this cafe becaufe our maker or Poet is 
appointed not for a iudge, but rather for a pleader, and 
that of pleafant and louely caufes and nothing perillous, 
fuch as be thofe for the triall of life, limme, or liuelv- 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 167 

hood ; and before iudges neither lower nor feuere, but 
in the eare of princely dames, yong ladies, gentlewomen 
and courtiers, beyng all for the moil part either meeke 
of nature, or of pleafant humour, and that all his abufes 
tende but to difpofe the hearers to mirth and follace by 
pleafant conueyance and efficacy of fpeach, they are 
not in truth to be accompted vices but for vertues in 
the poetical fcience very commendable. On the other 
fide, fuch trefpaffes in fpeach (whereof there be many) 
as geue dolour and dilliking to the eare and minde, by 
any foule indecencie or difproportion of founde, fitua- 
tion, or fence, they be called and not without caufe the 
vicious parts or rather herefies of language : wherefore 
the matter refteth much in the definition and accept- 
ance of this word [decon/m] for whatfoeuer is fo, cannot 
iuftly be milliked. In which refpecl it may come to 
pa fie that what the Grammarian fetteth downe for a 
viciofitee in fpeach may become a vertue and no vice, 
contrariwife his commended figure may fall into a re- 
prochfull fault : the beft and moft affured remedy 
whereof is, generally to follow the faying of Bias : ne 
quid nimis. So as in keeping meafure, and not exceed- 
ing nor fhewing any defect in the vfe of his figures, he 
cannot lightly do amiffe, if he haue befides (as that mull 
needes be) a fpeciall regard to all circumftances of the 
perfon. place, time, caufe and purpofe he hath in hand, 
which being well obferued it eafily auoideth all the re- 
cited inconueniences, and maketh now and then very 
vice goe for a formall vertue in the exercife of this Arte. 

CHAP. VIII. 

Sixe points fet downe by our learned forefathers for a 

generall 7'egiment of all good vtterance be it by 

mouth or by writing. 

|Vt before there had bene yet any precife 
obferuation made of figuratiue fpeeches, 
the firft learned artificers of language con- 
fidered that the bewtie and good grace of 
vtterance relied in no many pomtes : and 




168 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

whatfoeuer tranfgreffed thofe lymits, they counted it 
for vitious ; and thereupon did fet downe a manner of 
regiment in all fpeech generally to be obferued, con- 
fifling in fixe pointes. Firfl they faid that there ought 
to be kept a decent proportion in our writings and 
fpeach, which they termed Analogia. Secondly, that 
it ought to be voluble vpon the tongue, and tunable 
to the eare, which they called To/Is. Thirdly, that it 
were not tedioufly long, but briefe and compendious, 
as the matter might beare, which they called Syntomia. 
Fourthly, that it fhould cary an orderly and good con- 
ftruclion, which they called Synthefis. Fiftly, that it 
mould be a found, proper and naturall fpeach, which 
they called Ciriologia. Sixtly, that it fhould be liuely 
and ftirring, which they called Tropus. So as it ap- 
peareth by this order of theirs, that no vice could be 
committed in fpeech, keeping within the bounds of 
that reftraint. But fir, all this being by them very 
well concerned, there remayned a greater difhcultie to 
know what this proportion, volubilitie, good conftruct- 
ion, and the reft were, otherwife we could not be euer 
the more relieued. It was therefore of neceffitie that 
a more curious and particular defcription mould bee 
made of euery manner of fpeech, either tranfgreffmg 
or agreeing with their faid generall prefcript. Where- 
upon it came to paffe, that all the commendable parts of 
fpeech were fet foorth by the name of figures, and all the 
illaudable partes vnder the name of vices, or viciofities, 
of both which it fhall bee fpoken in their places. 

CHAP. IX. [XI] 
How the Greekes first, and afterward the Latines, {fl- 
uent ed new names for euery figure, which this Author 
is alfo enforced to doo in his vulgar. 

|He Greekes were a happy people for the 
freedome and liberty of their language, 
becaufe it was allowed then to inuent 
any new name that they lifted, and to 
peece many words together to make of 




OF ORXAMEXT. LIB. III. 169 

them one entire, much more hgnincatiue than the 
fmgle word. So among other things did they to their 
figuratiue fpeeches deuife certaine names. The Latines 
came fomewhat behind them in that point, and for 
want of conuenient fmgle wordes to expreffe that which 
the Greeks could do by cobling many words together, 
they were faine to vfe the Greekes ftill, till after many 
yeares that the learned Oratours and good Grammarians 
among the Romaines, as Cicero, Varro, Qiiititilian. and 
others drained themfelues to giue the Greeke wordes 
Latin names, and yet nothing fo apt and fitty. The fame 
courfe are we driuen to follow in this defcription, fmce 
we are enforced to cull out for the vfe of our Poet or 
maker all the mo ft commendable figures. Now to 
make them knowen (as behoueth) either we muft do 
it by th* original Greeke name or by the Latin e, or by 
our owne. But when I confider to what fort of Read- 
ers I write, and how ill faring the Greeke terme would 
found in the Englifh eare, then alfo how fhort the 
Latines come to expreffe manie of the Greeke originals. 
Finally, how well our language ferueth to fupplie the 
full fignihcation of them both, I haue thought it no 
leffe lawfull, yea peraduenture ruder licence of the 
learned, more laudable to vfe our owne naturall, if 
they be well chofen, and of proper fignihcation, than 
to borrow theirs. So fhall not our Englifh Poets, 
though they be to feeke of the Greeke and Latin 
languages, lament for lack of knowledge fumcient to 
the purpofe of this arte. And in cafe any of thefe 
new Englifh names giuen by me to any figure, fhall 
happen to offend. I pray that the learned will beare 
with me and to thinke the ftraungeneffe thereof pro- 
ceedes but of noueltie and difaquaintance with our 
cares, which in proceffe of tyme, and by cuftome will 
frame very well : and fuch others as are not learned 
in the primitiue languages, if they happen to hit vpon 
any new name of myne (fo ridiculous in their opinion) 
as may moue them to laughter, let fuch perfons, yet 
affure themfelues that fuch names go as neare as may 



170 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

be to their originals, or els ferue better to the purpofe 
of the figure then the very originall, referuing alwayes, 
that fuch new name mould not be vnpleafant in our 
vulgar nor harm vpon the tong : and where it mail 
happen otherwife, that it may pleafe the reader to 
thinke that hardly any other name in our Enghfh 
could be found to ferue the turne better. Againe if 
to auoid the hazard of this blame I mould haue kept 
the Greek or Latin ftill it would haue appeared a 
little too fcholafticall for our makers, and a peece of 
worke more fit for clerkes then for Courtiers for whofe 
mftruclion this trauaile is taken : "and if I mould haue 
left out both the Greeke and Latine name, and put in 
none of our owne neither : well perchance might the 
rule of the figure haue bene fet downe, but no con- 
uenient name to hold him in memory. It was ther- 
fore expedient we deuifed for euery figure of import- 
ance his vulgar name, and to ioyne the Greeke or 
Latine originall with them; after that fort much better 
fatisfying afwel the vulgar as the learned learner, and 
alfo the authors owne purpofe, which is to make of a 
rude rimer, a learned and a Courtly Poet. 

CHAP. X. 

A diuifwn offgures, and how they ferue in exor nation 

of language. 

|Nd becaufe our chiefe purpofe herein is for 
the learning of Ladies and young Gentle- 
women, or idle Courtiers, defirous to be- 
come skilful in their owne mother tongue, 
and for their priuate recreation to make 
now and then ditties of pleafure, thinking for our parte 
none other fcience fo fit for them and the place as that 
which teacheth beau femblant, the chiefe profeffion af- 
well of Courting as of poefie : fmce to fuch manner of 
mindes nothing is more comberfome then tedious doc- 
trines and fchollarly methodes of difcipline, we haue in 
our owne conceit deuifed a new and ftrange modell of 
this arte, fitter to pleafe the Court then the fchoole, 




OF ORNAMENT. LIE. III. 171 

and yet not vnneceffarie for all fuch as be willing them- 
felues to become good makers in the vulgar, or to be 
able to iudge of other mens makings: wherefore, in- 
tending to follow the courfe which we haue begun, thus 
we fay : that though the language of our Poet or maker 
be pure and clenly, and not difgraced by fuch vici- 
ous parts as haue bene before remembred in the Chap- 
ter of language, be fufficiently pleafmg and commend- 
able for the ordinarie vfe of fpeech ; yet is not the fame 
fo well appointed for all purpofes of the excellent Poet, 
as when it is gallantly arrayed in all his colours which 
figure can fet vpon it, therefore we are now further to 
determine of figures and figuratiue fpeech es. Figura- 
tiue fpeech is a noueltie of language euidently (and yet 
not abfurdly) eflranged from the ordinarie habit e and 
manner of our dayly talke and writing and figure it 
felfe is a certaine liuely or good grace fet vpon wordes, 
fpeaches and fentences to fome purpofe and not in 
vaine, giuing them ornament or efncacie by many man- 
er of alterations in fhape, in founde, and alfo in fence, 
fometime by way of furplufage, fometime by defect, 
fometime by diforder, or mutation, and alfo by putting 
into our fpeaches more pithe and fubflance, fubtilitie, 
quickneffe, efncacie or moderation, in this or that fort 
tuning and tempring them, by amplification, abridge- 
ment, opening, clofing, enforcing, meekening or other- 
wife difpofing them to the beft purpofe : whereupon the 
learned clerks who haue written methodically of this 
Arte in the two matter languages, Greeke and Latin e, 
haue forted all their figures into three rankes, and the 
firfl they bellowed vpon the Poet onely: the fecond 
vpon the Poet and Oratour indifferently: the third vp- 
on the Oratour alone. And that firft fort of figures 
doth feme th'eare onely and may be therefore called 
Auricula?-: your fecond femes the conceit onely and 
not th'eare, and may be called fenfable, not fenfible nor 
yet fententious : your third fort femes as well th'eare as 
the conceit and maybe called fententious figures, be- 
caufe not only they properly apperteine to full fentences, 



172 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

for bewtifying them with a currant and pleafant numer- 
ofitie, but alfo giuing them efficacie, and enlarging the 
whole matter befides with copious amplifications. I 
doubt not but fome bufie carpers will fcorne at my new 
deuifed termes : auricular and fenfable, faying that I 
might with better warrant haue vfed in their Heads 
thefe words, orthographicall or fyntaclicall, which the 
learned Grammarians left ready made to our hands, 
and do importe as much as th'other that I haue brought, 
which thing peraduenture I deny not in part, and 
neuertheleffe for fome caufes thought them not fo 
neceffarie: but with thefe maner of men I do willingly 
beare, in refpect of their laudable endeuour to allow 
antiquitie and flie innouation: with like beneuolence 
I trufl they will beare with me writing in the vulgar 
: fpeach and feeking by my nouelties to fatisfie not the 
fchoole but the Court: whereas they know very well all 
old things foone waxe dale and lothfome, and the new 
deuifes are euer dainty and delicate, the vulgar inftruc- 
tion requiring alfo vulgar and communicable termes, 
not clerkly or vncouthe as are all thefe of the Greeke 
and Latine languages primitiuely receiued, vnleffe they 
be qualified or by much vfe and cuftome allowed and 
our eares made acquainted with them. Thus then I 
fay that auricular figures be thofe which worke altera- 
tion in th'eare by found, accent, time, and flipper volu- 
bilitie in vtterance, fuch as for that refpect was called 
by the auncients numerofitie of fpeach. And not onely 
the whole body of a tale in a poeme or hiflorie may be 
made in fuch fort pleafant and agreable to the eare, 
but alfo euery claufe by it felfe, and euery fingle word 
carried in a claufe, may haue their pleafant iweeteneffe 
apart. And fo long as this qualitie extendeth but to 
the outward tuning of the fpeach reaching no higher 
then th'eare and forcing the mynde little or nothing, it 
is that vertue which the Greeks call Enargia and is the 
office of the auricular figures to performe. Therefore 
as the members of language at large are whole fentences, 
and fentences are compact of claufes, and claufes of 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 173 

words, and euery word of letters and fillables, fo is the 
alteration (be it but of a tillable or letter) much mate- 
riall to the found and fweeteneffe of vtterance. Where- 
fore beginning firft at the fmalleft alterations which reft 
in letters and fillables, the firft fort of our figures auri- 
cular we do appoint to fingle words as they lye in lan- 
guage; the fecond to claufes of fpeach; the third to 
perfit fentences and to the whole maffe or body of the 
tale be it poeme or hiftorie written or reported. 

CHAP. XL 
Of auricular figures apperteining to fingle wordes and 

working by their diuers fou fides and audible tunes 
alteration to the eare ofiely a fid not the mynde. 

Word as he lieth in courfe of language is 
many waves figured and thereby not a 
little altered in found, which confequently 
alters the tune and harmonic of a meeter 
as to the eare. And this alteration is 
ibmetimes by adding fome times by rah bating of a til- 
lable or letter to or from a word either in the beginning, 
middle or ending ioyning or vnioyning of fillables and 
letters fuppreffmg or confounding their feuerall foundes, 
or by mifplacing of a letter, or by cleare exchaunge of 
one letter for another, or by wrong ranging of the ac- 
cent. And your figures of addition or furplufe be 
three, videl. In the beginning, as to fay : I-doen, for 
doon, endanger, for danger, embolden, for bolden. 

In the middle, as to fay refiners, for reuers, meeterly. 
for meetly, goldylockes, for goldlockes. 

In th'endj as to fay [f'emembrefi\ for [remembre] 
[fipoken] for [jpoke\ And your figures of rabbate be 
as many, videl. 

From the beginning, as to fay \twixt for belK'Lxt] 
[gaififiay for againefay :] [ill for euill :] 

From the middle, as to fay [para u filer for parauen- 
ture] poorely for pouertie] fouraigne for foueraigne\ tane 
for taken.~\ % 

From the end, as to fay [mome for morning] bet for 
better\ and fuch like. 



174 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Your fwallowing or eating vp one letter by another 
is when two vowels meete, whereof th'ones found goeth 
into other, as to fay for to attaine fattaine\ for forrow 
and fmari for 1 and fmart?\ 

Your displacing of a fillable as to fay \defier for de- 
fir e?[ fier for fire. ] 

By cleare exchaunge of one letter or fillable for an- 
other, as to fay euermare for euermore, wrang for wrong : 
gould for gold : fright for fraight and a hundred moe, 
which be commonly mifufed and {trained to make 
rime. 

By wrong ranging the accent of a fillable by which 
meane a fhort fillable is made long and a long fhort 
as to fay fouei'&ine for foueraine : grations for grdtious : 
endure for enditre : Salomon for Salomon. 

Thefe many wayes may our maker alter his wordes, 
and fome times it is done for pleafure to giue a better 
found, fometimes vpon neceffitie, and to make vp the 
rime. But our maker muft take heed that he be not 
to bold fpecially in exchange of one letter for another, 
for vnleffe vfuall fpeach and cuftome allow it, it is a 
fault and no figure, and becaufe thefe be figures of the 
fmalleft importaunce, I forbeare to giue them any vul- 
gar name. 

CHAP. XII. 

Of Auricular figures pertaining to claufes of fpeech and 
by them working no little alteration to the eare. 

|S your fmgle wordes may be many waies trans- 
figured to make the meetre or verfe more 
tunable and melodious, fo alfo may your 
whole and entire claufes be in fuch fort con- 
triued by the order of their conftrucTion as 
the eare may receiue a certaine recreation, although 
the mind for any noueltie of fence be little or nothing 
affected. And therefore al your figures of gram77iati- 
call conftruction, I accompt them but merely auricidar 
in that they reach no furder then the eare. To which 
there will appeare fome fweete or vnfauery point to 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 175 

offer you dolour or delight, either by fome euident 
defect, or furplufage, or diforder, or immutation in the 
fame fpeaches notably altering either the congruitie 
grammatically or the fence, or both. And firft of thofe 
that worke by defect, if but one word or fome little 
portion of fpeach be wanting, it may be fupplied by 
ordinary vnderftandmg and vertue of the . . 

figure Eclipfis, as to fay, fo early a man, for r the"" 
[are ye] fo early a man : he is to be in- Figu / a e u ° t f de " 
treated, for he is [eafie] to be intreated : I 
thanke God I am to Hue like a Gentleman, for I am 
[able] to hue, and the Spaniard faid in his deuife of 
armes acuerdo oluido, I remember I forget whereas 
in right congruitie of fpeach it fhould be. I remember 
[that I [doo] forget. And in a deuife of our owne 
[empechement pur a choifoii] a let for a furderance 
whereas it mould be faid [yfe] a let for a furderance, 
and a number more like fpeaches defecliue, and fup- 
plied by common vnderftandmg. 

But if it be to mo claufes then one, that fome fuch 
word be fupplied to perfit the congruitie or 
fence of them all, it is by the figure [Zeug- or the 
ma] we call him the [fingle fupplie] becaufe single supply - 
by one word we ferue many claufes of one congruitie, 
and may be likened to the man that femes many 
maiflers at once, but all of one country or kindred : as 
to fay. 

Fellow es and friends and kinne forfooke me quite. 

Here this word forfooke fatisfieth the congruitie and 
fence of all three claufes, which would require euery of 
them afmuch. And as we fetting forth her Maiefties 
regall petigree, faid in this figure of [Single fupplie.] 
Her graundfires Father and Brother was a King 
Her mother a crowned Queene, her Sifter and her f elf e. 

Whereas ye fee this one word [was] femes them all 
in that they require but one congmitie and fence. 

Yet hath this figure of [Single fupply] another pro- 
pertie, occafioning him to change now and then his 
name : by the order of his fupplie, for if it be placed 



175 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

in the forefront of all the feuerall claufes whom he is to 

Prozeu ferue as a common feruitour, then is he 

or the ' called by the Greeks Prozeug77ia, by vs the 

Ringleader. R mg l ea( }er : t h US 

Her beautie perst mine eye, her f peach mine wo full hart : 
Her prefejice all the powers of my difcourfe. etc. 

Where ye fee that this one word [perfl] placed in 
the foreward, fatisfieth both in fence and congruitie all 
thofe other claufes that followe him. 

And if fuch word of fupplie be placed in 

eZ orthf" c the middle of all fuch claufes as he ferues : 

Middle mar- ft ; s ^y ^ e Greekes called Mezozeugma, by 

vs the [Middlemarcher] thus : 
Faire maydes beautie (alack) with yeares it weares away. 
And with wethe'r and ficknes, and for row as they fay. 

Where ye fee this word [7veares] ferues one claufe 
before him, and two claufes behind him, in one and 
the fame fence and congruitie. And in this verfe, 
Either the troth or talke nothing at all. 
Where this word [talke] ferues the claufe before and 
alfo behind. But if fuch fupplie be placed after all 
„ x the claufes, and not before nor in the mid- 

or the die, then is he called by the Greeks Jtiypo- 
Rerewarder. Z eug77ia, and by vs the [Rerewarder] thus : 
My 77iates that wont, to keepe vie C07iipa7iie, 
A7id 77iy neighbours ) who dwelt next to 77iy wall, 
The friends that f ware, they would not fiicke to die 
Li 77iy quai'1'ell : they are fled from 77ie all. 
W T here ye fee this word [fled fro77i me] ferue all the 
three claufes requiring but one congruitie and fence. 
But if fuch want be in fundrie claufes, and of feuerall 
Gongruities or fence, and the fupply be made to ferue 

saietsis them a ^> lt ^ S ky tne % ure Sillepfs, whom 
o/the ' for that refpecl we call the [double fupplie] 
Double supply. conce i u i n g ? and, as it were, comprehending 
vnder one, a fupplie of two natures, and may be likened 
to the man that ferues many mailers at once, being of 
flrange Countries or kinreds, as in thefe verfes, where 
the lamenting widow mewed the Pilgrim the graues in 
which her husband and children lay buried. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB, III. 177 

Here y fweete fonnes. and daughters all my btiffe, 
xe deere husband buried is. 
i-re ye fee one verbe lingular fupplyefh the plur- 
all and lingular, and thus 

Fudge ye louers, if it be fir an ge or no: 
Ladie laughs for ioy, and I for wo. 
;-re ye fee a third perfon fupplie himfelfe and a 
firft perfon. And thus, 

xem - hewed your felfe vntrue. 
Nor my deferts wc dd euer fuffer j 
Viz. to fliow. Where ye fee the moode Indicatiue 
fupply him felfe and an Infmitiue. And the like in 
- _ er. 

:ner yet failde you in conflancie, 
doo intend vntill I die. 
Viz. \toJhaw^\ Thus much for the congruitie, now 
the fence. One wrote thus of a young man, who 
Hew a villaine that had killed his father, and rauilhed 
mother. 

:fly and with a manly minde, 
And by one feat e of euerlaflingfa; 
This lujiie lad fully requited kinde, . 
His fathers death, and eke his mothers fliame. 
Where ye fee this word [requite] feme a double 
fence : that is to fay, to reuenge, and. to fatisfie. For 
the parents iniurie was reuenged, and the duetie of 
nature performed or fatisned by the childe. But if 
this fur. \ lie be made to fundrie claufes, or to one claufe 
fundrie times iterated, and by feuerall words, fo as 
euerv claufe hath his owne fupplie: then 
is it called by the Greekes Hypozeuocis^ we or the 
call him the fubftitute after his original!, Substitute. 
and is a fupplie with iteration, as thus : 

if, and to the king flie f aid, 
: Lord behold thy poore handmaid. 
Here \went to the king\ and [faid to the king] be but 
one claufe iterated with words of fundrie fupply. Or 
as in thefe verfes following. 

My Ladie gaue me, my La die wijinot what, 

M 



178 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Gening me leaue to be her Soueraine : 
For by fuch gift my Ladie hath done that, 
Which vvhilefljlie lines Jhe may not call againe. 
Here [my Ladie gaue] and [my Ladie vvijl\ be fup- 
plies with iteration, by vertue of this figure. 

Ye haue another auricular figure of defect, and is 
when we begin to fpeake a thing, and breake of in the 
middle way, as if either it needed no further to be 
fpoken of, or that we were alhamed, or afraide to 
fpeake it out. It is alfo fometimes done by way of 
. . . , . threatning, and to fhew a moderation of 
or the anger. Ine Greek es call him Apofiopefis. 
Figure of silence. I? the figure of fllence? or of interruption, 

indifferently. 

If we doo interrupt our fpeech for feare, this may 
be an example, where as one duril not make the true 
report as it was, but ftaid halfe way for feare of 
offence, thus : 

He f aid yon were, I dare not tell you plaine : 
For zvords once out, neuer returiie againe. 
If it be for fhame, or that the fpeaker fuppofe it 
would be indecent to tell all, then thus : as he that 
faid to his fweete hart, whom he checked for fecretly 
whifpering with a fufpected perfon. 

And did ye not come by his chamber dore ? 
And tell him that : goe to, I fay no more. 
If it be for anger or by way of manace or to fhow a 
moderation of wrath as the graue and difcreeter fort 
of men do, then thus. 

If I take you with fuch another cafi 
I fweare by God, but let this be the loft. 
Thinking to haue faid further viz. I will punifh you. 
If it be for none of all thefe caufes but vpon fome 
fodaine occafion that moues a man to breake of his 
tale, then thus. 

He told me all at large : lo yonder is the man 
Let himfelfe tell the tale that befl tell can. 
This figure is fit for phantafticall heads and fuch as 
be fodaine or lacke memorie. I know one of good 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 179 

learning that greatly blemifheth his difcretion with this 
maner of fpeach : for if he be in the graueft matter of 
the world talking, he will vpon the fodaine for the 
flying of a bird ouerthwart the way, or fome other 
fuch Height caufe, interrupt his tale and neuer returne 
to it againe. 

Ye haue yet another maner of fpeach purporting at 
the firfl blufh a defect which afterward is fupplied, the 
Greekes call him Prolepfis, we the Pro- p ro i e f>sis 
pounder, or the Explaner which ye will : or the 
becaufe he workes both effeaes, as thus, Pr °P° under - 
where in certaine verfes we defcribe the triumphant 
enter-view of two great Princeffes thus. 
Thefe two great Qiteenes, came marching hand in hand, 
Vnto the hall, where Jlore of Princes fiand : 
And people of all count reys to behold, 
Cor onis all clad, in purple cloth of gold: 
Cellar in robes, of filuer tijfew white, 
With rich rubies, and pear les all bedighte. 

Here ye fee the firfl propofition in a fort defectiue 
and of imperfect fence, till ye come by diuifion to ex- 
plane and enlarge it, but if we mould follow the ori- 
ginall right, we ought rather to call him the foreflaller, 
for like as he that flandes in the market way, and takes 
all vp before it come to the market in groffe and fells 
it by retaile, fo by this maner of fpeach our maker 
fetts down, before all the matter by a brief propofition, 
and afterward explanes it by a diuifion more parti- 
cularly. 

By this other example it appeares alfo. 
Then deare Lady I pray you let it bee, 
That our long lone may lead vs to agree : 
Mefince I may not wed you to my wife, 
To ferue you as a miflrejfe all my life : 
Ye that may not me for your husband haue, 
To clay me me for your jeruant and your flaue. 



Trespasser. 



180 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

CHAP. XII\I\ 
Of your figures Auricular Working by dif order. 

BTSFjSwjI Q a ^ their fpeaches which wrought 
mperhaton, ||| Mm b > r dif ° rd er the Greekes gaue a 
• the lEgi] l$iil g enera l name \Hipe?'batoii\ as 
iS IPffil much to fay as the \trefpaffe}-\ 
and becaufe fuch diforder may 
be committed many way es it receiueth fundry particulars 
vnder him, whereof fomeareonely proper to the Greekes 
and Latines and not to vs, other fome ordinarie in our 
maner of fpeaches, but fo foule and intolerable as I 
will not feeme to place them among the figures, but 
do raunge them as they deferue among the vicious or 
faultie fpeaches. 

Your firft figure of tollerable diforder is \Parenthefis\ 
JT . or by an Ensrlifh name the \Infertour\ and 

Parenthesis. J 9 L J m J # 

or the is when ye will feeme for larger information 
insertour. or f ome or her purpofe, to peece or graffe 
in the middeft of your tale an vnneceffary parcell of 
fpeach, which neuerthelefTe may be thence without any 
detriment to the reft. The figure is fo common that 
it needeth none example, neuerthelefTe becaufe we are 
to teache Ladies and Gentlewomen to know their 
fchoole points and termes appertaining to the Art, we 
may not refufe to yeeld examples euen in the plainefl 
cafes, as that of maifter Diars very aptly. 
But 7io vv my Deere {forfo 7iiy lone makes me to call you JlilT) 
That lone I fay. that Incklef/e loue, that works 77ie all this ill. 
Alfo in our Eglogue intituled Elpiiie, which we 
made being but eightene yeares old, to king Edward 
the fixt a Prince of great hope, we furmifed that the 
Pilot of a fhip anfwering the King, being inquifitiue 
and defirous to know all the parts of the fhip and 
tackle, what they were, and to what vfe they ferued, 
vfmg this infertion or Parenthefis. 

Soueraigne Lo7'd {for why a greater nana 
To 07ie 071 earth no mortall to7igue ca7ifi-a77ie 
No flatelie filile ca7i giue the praclifd penne : 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. igi 

To one on earth cornier f ant a?nong men.) 
And fo proceedes to anfwere the kings queflion ? 

ThefJiippe thou feest fay ling in fea fo large, etc. 
This infertion is very long and vtterly impertinent 
to the principal! matter, and makes a great gappe in 
the tale, neuertheleffe is no difgrace but rather a bewtie 
and to very good purpofe, but you muft not vfe fuch 
infertions often nor to thick, nor thofe that bee very 
long as this of ours, for it will breede great confufion 
to haue the tale fo much interrupted. 

Ye haue another manner of difordered fpeach, when 
lace your words or claufes and fet that before 
:h mould be behind, et e conn 'erfo », Ave Histeron 
call it in Englifh prouerbe, the cart before ^IbT' 
the horfe. the Greeks call it Hifferon proteron, Preposterous. 
we name it the Prepoiierous, and if it be not too much 
vfed is tollerable inough, and many times fcarce per- 
ceiueable, vnleffe the fence be thereby made very 
abfurd : as he that defcribed his manner of departure 
from his miftreffe, faid thus not much to be milliked. 
/ kift her cherry lip and tooke my leaue : 
For I tooke my leaue and kift her : And yet I can- 
well fay whether a man vfe to kiffe before hee take 
leaue, or take his leaue before he kiffe, or that it 
be all one bufines. It feemes the taking leaue is by 
: 5 r fome fpeach, intreating licence of departure : the 
r a knitting vp of the farewell, and as it were a 
teftimoniall of the licence without which here in England 
one may not prefume of courtefie to depart, let yong 
Courtiers decide this controuerfie. One defcribing his 
vpon a flrange coail, fayd thus prepoileroufly. 
When we had dimbde the c/ifs, and were afliore, 
Whereas he fhould haue faid by good order. 
When we were come afliore and clymed had the cliffs 
For one mud be on land ere he can clime. And 
another faid : 
My dame that bred me vp and bare me in her vvombe. 
Whereas the bearing is before the bringing vp. All 
ur other figures of diforder becaufe they rather feeme 



182 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 




deformities then bewties of language, for fo many of them 
as be notorioufly vndecent, and make no good harmony, 
I place them in the Chapter of vices hereafter following. 

CHAP. XIIIL 
Of your figures Auricular that vvorke by Surplufage. 

j|Our figures auricular that workebyfurplufage, 
fuch of them as be materiall and of im- 
portaunce to the fence or bewtie of your 
language, I referre them to the harmonicall 
fpeaches of oratours among the figures 
rhetoricall, as be thofe of repetition, and iteration or 
amplification. All other forts of furplufage, I accompt 
rather vicious then figuratiue, and therefore not me- 
lodious as fhalbe remembred in the chapter of vicioii- 
ties or faultie fpeaches. 

CHAP. XV. 

Of auricular figures working by exchange. 

Our figures that worke auri- 
cularly by exchange, were 
more obferuable to the Greekes 
and Latines for the braueneffe 
of their language, ouer that 
our is, and for the multiplicitie of their Grammaticall 
accidents, or verball affects, as I may terme them, that 
is to fay, their diuers cafes, moodes, tenfes, genders, 
with variable terminations, by reafon whereof, they 
changed not the very word, but kept the word," and 
changed the fhape of him onely, vfmg one cafe for an- 
other, or tenfe, or perfon, or gender, or number, or 
moode. We, hauing no fuch varietie of accidents, haue 
little or no vfe of this figure. They called it Enallage. 
But another fort of exchange which they had, and 

h italicize ver y P re ty> we °^ oe likewife vfe, not chang- 

or the"* ' ing one word for another, by their acci- 

Changeimg. d en ts or cafes, as the Enallage: nor by the 

places, as the \Pi'epofterous~\ but changing their true 

conflruction and application, whereby the fence is quite 



Enallage. 
or the 
Figure of ex- 
change. 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 183 

peruertecl and made very abfurd : as, he that mould fay, 
for tell me troth and lie not, lie ?ne troth and tell not. For 
come dine with me andjlay not, come \flay with ?ne anddi?ie 
not. 

A certaine piteous louer, to moue his miftres to com- 
paflion, wrote among other amorous verfes, this one. 
Madame, I fet your eyes before mine woes. 
For, mine woes before your eyes, fpoken to th'intent 
to winne fauour in her fight. 

But that was pretie of a certaine forrie man of law, 
that gaue his Client but bad councell, and yet found 
fault with his fee, and faid : my fee, good frend, hath 
deferued better counfel. Good mailer, quoth the 
Client, if your felfe had not faid fo, I would neuer haue 
beleeued it: but now I thinke as you doo. The man 
of law perceiuing his -error, I tell thee (quoth he) my 
counfel hath deferued a better fee. Yet of all others 
was that a moft ridiculous, but very true exchange, 
which the yeoman of London vfed with his Sergeant at 
the Mace, who faid he would goe into the countrie, and 
make merry a day or two, while his man plyed his 
bulines at home : an example of it you mail fmde in 
our Enterlude entituled Luftie London: the Sergeant, 
for fparing of horf-hire, faid he would goe with the 
Carrier on foote. That is not for your worfhip, faide 
his yeoman, whereunto the Sergeant replyed. 
Ivpot what I mean e John, it is for to flay 
And company the knaue Carrier , for loofing ?ny way. 
The yeoman thinking it good manner to foothe his 
Sergeant, faid againe. 

/ meane what I wot Sir, your bejl is to hie, 
And carrie a knaue with you for companie. 
Ye fee a notorious exchange of the contraction, and 
application of the words in this : I wot what I meane \ 
and I mea?ie what I wot, and in the other, co?npany 
the knaue Carrier, and carrie a knaue in your company. 
The Greekes call this figure \HipalIage~\ the Latins 
Submutatio, we in our vulgar may call him the \vnder- 
change\ but I had rather haue him called the [Change- 



1S4 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

ling] nothing at all fweruing from his original!, and 
much more aptly to the purpofe, and pleafanter to 
beare in memory: fpecially for your Ladies and pretie 
miflreffes in Court, for whofe learning I write, becaufe 
it is a terme often in their mouthes, and alluding to the 
opinion of Nurfes, who are wont to fay, that the Fay- 
ries vfe to fleale the faireft children out of their cradles, 
and put other ill fauoured in their places, which they 
called changelings, or Elfs: fo, if ye mark, doelh our 
Poet, or maker play with his wordes, vfing a wrong 
condruction for a right, and an abfurd for a fenfible. 
by manner of exchange. 

CHAP.. XVI. 
Of fome other figures which becaufe they feme chifty to 

make the meeters tunable and melodious, and af- 
fect not the minde but very little, be pla- 
ced among the auricular. 



Qmoioteleion, 



^He Greekes vfed a manner of 

v| ^9y! fpeech or writing in their profes, 

x ° r , the SBSt that went bv claufes, hnifhino; 

Like loose IP&S&S Ess**! • 

frS SaBj gg the words of Ilk e tune, and might 
"~ ~~^ be by vfmg like cafes, tenies. 
and other points of confonance, which they called 
Omoioteleton, and is that wherin they neereft approched 
to our vulgar ryme, and may thus be expreffed. 
Weeping C7'eeping befeeching I wan. 
The loue at length of Lady Lucian. 
Or thus if we fpeake in profe and not in meetre. 
jSlifchaunces ought not to be lamented, 
But rather by wifedome in time preuented : 
For fuch mifliappes as be remcdileffe, 
To for row them it is but fooliJJineffe : 
Yet are we all fo fray le of nature, 
As to be greened with euery difpleafure. 
The craking Scotts as the Cronicle reportes at a 
certaine time made this bald rime vpon the Englifh-men. 
Long beards hartlejfe, 
Pai?ited hoodes witleffe : 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 185 

Gay coates gracelejfe, 

Make all England thriftleffe. 

Which is no perfit rime in deede, but claufes flnifhing 
in the felf fame tune : for a rime of good fimphonie 
mould not conclude his concords with one and the fame 
terminant fillable, as lejf, lejf, leff, but with diuers and 
like terminants, as lef pref mef as was before declared 
in the chapter of your cadences, and your claufes in 
profe mould neither finifh with the fame nor with the 
like terminants, but with the contrary as hath bene 
mewed before in the booke of proportions; yet many 
vfe it otherwife, neglecting the Poeticall harmonie and 
skill. And th'Earle of Surrey with Syr Thomas Wyat, 
the mofl excellent makers of their time, more peraduen- 
ture refpecting the fitneffe and ponderofitie of their 
wordes then the true cadence or fimphonie, were very 
licencious in this point. We call this figure following 
the originall, the \like'loofe\ alluding to th' Archers terme 
who is not faid to finifh the feate of his fhot before he 
giue the loofe, and deliuer his arrow from his bow, in 
which refpect we vfe to fay marke the loofe of a thing 
for marke the end of it. 

Ye do by another figure notably affect 
th'eare when ye make euery word of the **"?%£?*' 
verfe to begin with a like letter, as for ex- Figure of like 
ample in this verfe written in an Epithaphe 
of our making. 

Time tried his truth his trauailes and his trufl, 
And time to late tried his integritie. 

It is a figure much vfed by our common rimers, and 
doth well if it be not too much vfed, for then it falleth 
into the vice which fhalbe hereafter fpoken of called 
Tautologia. 

Ye haue another fort of fpeach in a Asyndet0U) 
manerdefectiuebecaufe it wants good band or the 
or coupling, and is the figure \_Afyndetoii\ Loose langage - 
we call him [loofe language~\ and doth not a litle alter 
th'eare as thus. 

Ifavv it, I faid it, I will ' fvveare it. 



i86 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Ccefar the Dictator vpon the victorie hee obteined 
againfl Phamax king of Bithinia fhewing the celeritie 
of his conqueft, wrate home to the Senate in this tenour 
of fpeach no leffe fwift and fpeedy then his victorie. 
Veni, vidi, vici, 
I came, If aw, I otiercame. 
Meaning thus I was no fooner come and beheld 
them but the victorie fell on my fide. 

The Prince of Orenge for his deuife of Armes in 
banner difplayed againfl the Duke of Alua and the 
Spaniards in the Low-countrey vfed the like maner of 
fpeach. 

Pro Rege,pro lege, pro grege, 

For the king, for the commons, for the countrey /awes. 
It is a figure to be vfed when we will feeme to make 
haft, or to be earneft, and thefe examples with a num- 
ber more be fpoken by the figure of [lofe language.'] 
Quite contrary to this ye haue another maner of con- 
Poiisindeton ftnidtion which they called \_Polifindetoii\ 
or the ' we may call him the [couple claufe\ for that 
oop e c ause ; euer y c } au f e j s ]^ m ^ an( j CO upled together 

with a coniuncliue thus. 

And If aw it, and I fay it and I 
Will f wear e it to be true. 
So might the Poefie of Ccefar haue bene altered 
thus. 

I came, and I f aw, and I ouercame. 
One wrote thefe verfes after the fame fort. 
For in her mynde no thought there is, 
But how fJie may be true iwis : 
A?id tenders thee and all thy heale, 
And wifJieth both thy health and weale : 
And is thine owne, and fo flief ayes, 
And cares for thee ten thoufand wayes. 
Ye haue another maner of fpeach drawen out at 
length and going all after one tenure and with an im- 
irmus perfit fence till you come to the laft word or 
orthe verfe which concludes the whole premiffes 
with a perfit fence and full periode, the 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. I IT. 187 

Greeks call it Irmus, I call him the [long loofe] thus 
appearing in a dittie of Sir Thomas Wyat where he 
defcribes the diuers diflempers of his bed. 
The restleffe Jiate renuer of my fmart, 
The labours fal ue increafing my forrow : 
The bodies eafe and troubles of my hart, 
Quit tour of mynde mine vn quiet foe : 
For getter of paine re?nembrer of woe, 
The place offleepe wherei?i I do but wake : 
Befprent with tea res my bed T theeforfake. 
Ye fee here how ye can gather no perfection of fence 
in all this dittie till ye come to the laft verfe in thefe 
wordes my bed I thee forfake. And in another Sonet 
of Petrarch a which was thus Englifhed by the fame 
Sir Thomas Wyat. 

Jfweaher care if fodaine pale collour, 

If jnany fighes with little f peach to plaine : 

w toy now woe, if they my ioyes distaine, 
Tor hope of 'J "ma 11, if much to feare therefore, 
Be figne of lone then do I loue againe. 
Here ail the whole fence of the dittie is fufpended till 
ye come to the laft three wordes, then do I loue againe, 
which finifheth the fong with a full and perfit fence. 
When ye will fpeakegiuing eueiy per- Epitheton 
fon or thing befides his proper name a or the ' 
qualitie by way of addition whether it be Q ualifisr - 
of good or of bad it is a figuratiue fpeach of audible 
alteration, fo is it alfo of fence as to fay. 

Fierce Achilles, wife Neflor wilie Vlyffes, 
Diana the chafl and thou lonely Venus : 
With thy blind boy that ahnofi neuer miifes, 
But hits our hartes when he leu els at vs. 
Or thus commending the Ifle of great Brittaine. 
Albion huge/l of Wejlerne Hands all, 

:te ay re and of good fiore : 
God fend we fee thy glory ?ieuer fall, 
But rather doyly to grow more and more. 
Or as we fang of our Soueraigne Lady giuing her 
thefe Attributes befides her proper name. 



iS8 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Elizabeth regent of the great Brittaiiie lie, 
Honour of all regents and of Qiieenes. 
But if we fpeake thus not expr effing her proper 
name Elizabeth, videl. 

The EnglifJi Diana, the great Britton mayde. 
Then it is not by Epithet on or figure of Attribution 
but by the figures Antonomafia, or Periphrafis. 

Ye haue yet another manner of fpeach when ye will 
Endiadis, - feeme to make two of one not thereunto 
Figure of conftrained, which therefore we call the figure 

Twinnes. of Twynnes, the Greekes Endiadis thus. 

Not you coy dame your lowrs nor your lookes. 
For \_your lowring lookes.~\ And as one of our ordi- 
nary rimers faid. 

Of fortune nor her frowning face, 
I am nothing agafl. 
In ftead, of \_ fortunes frowning face.] One prayfmg 
the Neapolitans for good men at amies, faid by the 
figure of Twynnes thus. 

A proud people and wife and valiant, 
Fiercely fighting with horfes and with barbes : 
By who f e pr owes the Romain Prince did daunt. 
Wild Ajfricanes and the lavvleffe Alarbes : 
The Nubiens marching with their armed cartes, 
Andfleaing a far re with venim and with dartes , 
Where ye fee this figure of Twynnes twife vfed, 
once when he faid horfes and barbes for barbd horfes : 
againe when he faith with venim and with dartes for 
venimous dartes. 

CHAP. XVI\I\ 

Of the figures which we call Senfable, becaufe they alter 

and afifecl the minde by alteration offence, 

andfirfl infingle wordes. 

IHe eare hauing receiued his due fatisfaclion 
by the awicular figures, now muft the 
minde alfo be ferued, with his naturall 
delight by figures fenfible fuch as by al- 
teration of intendmentes affect the cour- 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 189 

age, and geue a good liking to the conceit. And firfL 
fingle words haue their fence and vnderiianding altered 
and figured many wayes, to wit, by tranfport, abufe, 
croffe-naming, new naming, change of name. This 
will feeme very darke to you, vnleffe it be otherwife 
explaned more particularly : and firil of Metaphora, 
Tranfport. There is a kinde of wrefling Fi<ni re of trans - 
of a lingle word from his owne right fignifi- spSrte. 
cation, to another not fo naturall, but yet of fome 
affinitie or conueniencie with it, as to fay, / cannot 
geft your vnkinde words, for I cannot take them in 
good part : or as the man of law faid, I feele you not, for 
I vnderftand not your cafe, becaufe he had not his fee 
in his hand. Or as another faid to a mouthy Aduo- 
cate, why barkeft thou at me fo fore ? Or to call the 
top of a tree, or of a hill, the crowne of a tree or of a 
hill : for in deede crowne is the highefl ornament of a 
Princes head, made like a clofe garland, or els the 
top of a mans head, where the haire windes about, 
and becaufe fuch terme is not apply ed naturally to a 
tree, or to a hill, but is tranfported from a mans head 
to a hill or tree, therefore it is called by metaphore, 
or the figure of tranfport* And three caufes moues vs 
to vfe this figure, one for necefiitie or want of a better 
word, thus: 

As the drie ground that thirfles after afJwivr 
Seemes to reioyce when it is well iwet, 
And f peed ely brings foorth both grafje and flow r, 
If I a eke offunne or feafon doo not let. 
Here for want of an apter and more naturall word 
to declare the drie temper of the earth, it is faid to 
thirfl and to reioyce, which is onely proper to liuing 
creatures, and yet being fo inuerted, doth not fo much 
fwerue from the true fence, but that euery man can 
eafilie conceiue the meaning thereof. 

Againe, we vfe it for pleafure and ornament of our 
fpeach, as thus in an Epitaph of our owne making, to 
the honourable memorie of a deere friend, Sir Iohn 
27irogmorto?i, knight, Iuflice of Chefter, and a man of 
many commendable vertues. 



19^ OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Whom vertue rerde, enny hath ouerthrowen 
And lodged full low, vnder this marble Jlone : 
Ne neuer were his values fo well know en, 
Whilest he lined here, as now that he is gone. 
Here thefe words, rered, ouerthrowen, and lodged, are 
inuerted, and metaphorically applyed, not vpon ne- 
ceffitie, but for ornament onely, afterward againe in 
thefe verfes. 

No funne by day that euer faw him rest 
Free from the toyles of his fo bufie charge, 
No night that harbour d rankor in his breast, 
Nor merry moode, made reafon rumie at large. 
In thefe verfes the inuerhon or metaphor e, lyeth in 
thefe words, faw, harbourd, rim : which naturally are 
applyed to liuing things, and not to infenfible : as, the 
funne, or the night : and yet they approch fo neere, 
and fo conueniently, as the fpeech is thereby made 
more commendable. Againe, in moe verfes of the 
fame Epitaph, thus. 

His head a fource of grauitie and fence, 
His memory afliop of ciuill arte : 
His tongue aflreame of fugred eloquence, 
Wifdome and meekenes lay mingled in his harte, 
In which verfes ye fee that thefe words, foiLrce,fJiop, 
find, fugred, are inuerted from their owne fignihcation 
to another, not altogether fo naturall, but of much 
afhnitie with it. 

Then alfo do we it fometimes to enforce a fence 
and make the word more hgnificatiue : as thus, 
/ burne in loue, I freefe in deadly hate 
I fwimme in hope, and finke in deepe difpaire. 
Thefe examples I haue the willinger giuen you to 
fet foorth the nature and vfe of your figure metaphore, 
which of any other being choifly made, is the moll 
commendable and moft common. 
n ' , . But if for lacke of naturall and proper 

or the terme or worde we take another, neither 
Figure of abuse. natura u nor proper and do vntruly applie 
it to the thing which we would feeme to expreffe, and 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 191 

without any iuft inconuenience, it is not then fpoken by 
this figure Metaphor e or of inuerfion as before, but by 
plaine abufe, as he that bad his man go into his library 
and fet him his bowe and arrowes, for in deede there 
was neuer a booke there to be found, or as one mould 
in reproch fay to a poore man, thou raskall knaue, 
where raskall is properly the hunters terme giuen to 
young deere, leane and out of feafon, and not to peo- 
ple : or as one faid very pretily in this verfe. 

I lent my lone to loffe, and gaged my life in value. 

Whereas this worde lent is properly of mony or 
fome fuch other thing, as men do commonly borrow, 
for vfe to be repayed againe, and being applied to 
loue is vtterly abufed, and yet very commendably 
fpoken by vertue of this figure. For he that loueth 
and is not beloued againe, hath no leffe wrong, than 
he that lendeth and is neuer repayde. 

Now doth this vnderftanding or fecret conceyt reach 
many times to the only nomination of per- __-, . . 

r J , . , . J r x Metommia, 

Ions or things in their names, as of men, or the 
or mountaines, leas, countries and fuch like, Mlsnamer ' 
in which refpecl the wrong naming, or otherwife naming 
of them then is due, carieth not onely an alteration of 
fence but a neceffitie of intendment figuratiuely, as 
when we cal loue by the name of Venus, flelhly luft by 
the name of Cupid, bicaufe they were fappofed by the 
auncient poets to be authors and kindlers of loue and 
luft : Vulcane for lire, Ceres for bread : Bacchus for 
wine by the fame reafon ; alio if one fhould fay to a 
skilfull craftesman knowen for a glutton or common 
drunkard, that had fpent all his goods on riot and de- 
licate fare. 

Thy hands they made thee rich, thy pallat made thee poore. 
It is ment, his trauaile and arte made him wealthie, 
his riotous life had made him a beggar : and as one 
that boafted of his houfekeeping, laid that neuer a 
yeare paffed ouer his head, that he drank not in his 
houfe euery moneth foure tonnes of beere, and one 
hogfhead of wine, meaning not the caskes or veffels, 



192 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

but that quantitie which they conteyned. Thefe and 
fuch other fpeaches, where ye take the name of the 
Author for the thing if felfe ; or the thing conteining, 
for that which is contained, and in many other cafes do 
as it were wrong name the perfon or the thing. So 
neuertheleffe as it may be vnderftood, it is by the 
figure metonymia, or mifnamer. 

And if this manner of naming perfons or things be 

Antonomasia not ^y way of mifnaming as before, but 

or the ' by a conuenient difference, and fuch as is 

Surnamer. tmQ Qr e ft eeme( J an( q l^y to ^ e true? ft Jg 

then called not metonimia, but antonomafia, or the Sur- 
namer, (not the mifnamer, which might extend to any 
other thing afwell as to a perfon) as he that would fay : 
not king Philip of Spaine, but the Wefterne king, be- 
caufe his dominion lieth the furdefl Weft of any 
Chriften prince : and the French king the great Vallois, 
becaufe fo is the name of his houfe, or the Queene of 
England, The maiden Queene, for that is her hieft pe- 
culiar among all the Queenes of the world, or as we 
faid in one of our Partheniades, the Bryton mayde, 
becaufe fhe is the molt great and famous mayden of 
all Brittayne : thus, 

Bid in chaste filile, am borne as I weene 

To blazon foorth the Brytton mayden Queene. 

So did our forefathers call Henry the first, Beau- 
clerke, Edmund Ironfide, Richard ceeur de lion : Edward 
the Confejfor, and we of her Maieflie Elifabeth the 
peafible. 

Then alfo is the fence figuratiue when we deuife a 
~ u , . new name to any thing confonant, as neere 

Onomatopeia, J ° i r 

or the as we can to the nature thereof, as to 
New namer. ^ . jfaffcyg f lightning, clajlihig of blades, 
clinking of fetters, chinking of mony: and as the poet 
Virgil faid of the founding a trumpet, ta-ra-tant, tara- 
tantara, or as we giue fpecial names to the voices of 
dombe beafls, as to fay, a horfe neigheth, a lyon brayes, 
a fwine grunts, a hen cackleth, a dogge howles, and a 
hundreth mo fuch new names as any man hath libertie to 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 193 

deuife, fo it be fittie for the thing which he couets to 
expreffe. 

Your Epitheton or qualifier, whereof we fpake before, 
placing him among the figures auricular, E^uheton 
now becaufe he femes alfo to alter and en- or the 
force the fence, we will fay fomewhat more Serwife^hefi- 
of him in this place, and do conclude that gureofAttri- 
he muft be apt and proper for the thing he 
is added vnto, and not difagreable or repugnant, as 
one that faid : darke difdaine, and mifer able pride, very 
abfurdly, for difdaine or difdained things cannot be 
faid darke, but rather bright and cleere, becaufe they 
be beholden and much looked vpon, and pride is 
rather enuied then pitied or miferable, vnleffe it be in 
Chriftian charitie, which helpeth not the terme in this 
cafe. Some of our vulgar writers take great pleafure 
in giuing Epithets and do it almoft to euery word 
which may receiue them, and mould not be fo, yea 
though they were neuer fo propre and apt, for fome- 
rlmes wordes fuffered to go fmgle, do giue greater fence 
and grace than words quallified by attributions do. 

But the fence is much altered and the hearers con- 
ceit ftrangly entangled by the figure Meta- ' 2 . 
lepfis, which I call the farfet, as when we or the 
had rather fetch a word a great way off Farrefet - 
then to vfe one nerer hand to expreffe the matter afwel 
and plainer. And it feemeth the deuifer of this figure, 
had a defire to pleafe women rather then men : for we 
vfe to fay by manner of Prouerbe : things farrefet and 
deare bought are good for Ladies : fo in this manner 
of fpeach we vfe it, leaping ouer the heads of a great 
many words, we take one that is furdeft off, to vtter our 
matter by : as "Medea curfmg hir firft acquaintance with 
prince Iafon, who had very vnkindly forfaken her, faid : 
Woe worth the mountaine that the majle bare 
JVhich was the firft caufer of all my care. 

Where fhe might afwell haue faid, woe worth our 
firft meeting, or woe worth the time that Iafon arriued 
with his fhip at my fathers cittie in Colchos, when he 

N 



i 9 4 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

tooke me away with him, and not fo farre off as to 
curfe the mountaine that bare the pinetree, that made 
the mail, that bare the failes, that the fhip failed with, 
which caried her away. A pleafant Gentleman came 
into a Ladies nurfery, and faw her for her owne plea- 
fur e rocking of her young child in the cradle, and fayd 
to her : 

I fpeake it Madame without any mocke, 
Ma?iy a fitch cradell may I fee you rocke. 

Gods paffion hourfon faid me, would thou haue me 
beare mo children yet, no Madame quoth the Gentle- 
man, but I would haue you hue long, that ye might 
the better pleafure your friends, for his meaning was that 
as euery cradle fignified a new borne childe, and euery 
child the leafure of one yeares birth, and many yeares 
a long life : fo by wifhing her to rocke many cradels of 
her owne, he wifhed her long life. Virgill faid : 

Pofi mult as mea regno, videns mirabor arijlas. 

Thus in Englifh. 

After many a flubble fJiall I come 

And wonder at the fight of my kingdome. 

By flubble the Poet vnderftoode yeares, for haruefts 
come but once euery yeare, at leaft wayes with vs in 
Europe. This is fpoken by the figure of farre-fet. 
Metalepfis. 

And one notable meane to affect the minde, is to 
,, .. . inforce the fence of any thing by a word of 

or the more than ordinary erncacie, and neuerthe- 

Renforcer. j es - g not a pp aran f- ? but as it were, fecretly 

implyed, as he that faid thus of a faire Lady. 
O rare beaut ie, 6 grace, and curtefie. 

And by a very euill man thus. 

O finne it felfe, not wretch, but wretchednes. 

Whereas if he had faid thus, O gratious, courteous 
and beautifull woman : and, O finfull and wretched man, 
it had bene all to one effect, yet not with fuch force 
and erncacie, to fpeake by the denominatiue, as by the 
thing it felfe. 

As by the former figure we vfe to enforce our fence, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 195 

fo by another we temper our fence with wordes of fuch 
moderation, as in appearaunce it abateth it but not in 
deede, and is by the figure Liptote, which L ^ tofe 
therefore I call the Moderator, and becomes or the 
vs many times better to fpeake in that fort Moderatour - 
quallified, than if we fpake it by more forcible termes, 
and neuertheles is equipolent in fence, thus. 

/ know you hate me not, nor wi/Ji vie any ill. 

Meaning in deede that he loued him very well and 
dearely, and yet the words doe not expreffe fo much, 
though they purport fo much. Or if you would fay, I 
am not ignorant, for I know well inough. Such a 
man is no foole, meaning in deede that he is a very 
wife man. 

But if fuch moderation of words tend to flattery, or 
foothing, or excufmg, it is by the figure ,. 

Paradiaftole, which therfore nothing impro- J ^ or the 
perly we call the Curry-fauell, as when we Curry fauelL 
make the bell of a bad thing, or turne a fignification 
to the more plaufible fence : as, to call an vnthrifc, a 
liberall Gentleman : the foolifh-hardy, valiant or coura- 
gious : the niggard, thriftie : a great riot, or outrage, an 
ypjithfull pranke, and fuch like termes : moderating 
and abating the force of the matter by craft, and for a 
pleafmg purpofe, as appeareth by thefe verfes of ours, 
teaching in what cafes it may commendably be vfed 
by Courtiers. 

But if you diminifh and abbafe a thing by way of 
fpight and mallice, as it were to depraue it, . ^ 

fuch fpeach is by the figure Meiofis or the or the 
difabler fpoken of hereafter in the place Dlsabler - 
of fententious figures. 

A great mountaine as bigge as a molehill, 

A heauy burthen perdy, as a pound of f ethers. 

But if ye abafe your thing or matter by ignorance 
or errour in the choife of your word, then „ , . . 
is it by vicious maner of fpeach called or the 
Tapinofis, whereof ye mail haue examples Abbaser - 
in the chapter of vices hereafter folowing. 



i£>6 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Then againe if we vfe fuch a word (as many times 
Synecdoche, we doe) by which we driue the hearer to 
Figure of quick conce i ue more or leffe or beyond or other- 
concdte. wife then the letter expreffeth, and it be 

not by vertue of the former figures Metaphore and 
Abafe and the reft, the Greeks then call it Synecdoche, 
the Latines fob intelleclio or vnderftanding, for by part 
we are enforced to vnderftand the whole, by the whole 
part, by many things one thing, by one, many, by a 
thing precedent, a thing confequent, and generally one 
thing out of another by maner of contrariety to the 
word which is fpoken, aliud ex alio, which becaufe it 
feemeth to aske a good, quick, and pregnant capacitie, 
and is not for an ordinarie or dull wit fo to do, I 
chofe to call him the figure not onely of conceit after 
the Greeke originall, but alfo of quick conceite. As 
for example we will giue none becaufe we will fpeake 
of him againe in another place, where he is ranged 
among the figures fenf able apperteining to claufes. 

CHAP. XVIII. 

Of fe)if able figures altering and affecting the mynde 

by alteration of fence or intendements in 

whole claufes or f peaches. 

|S by the laft remembred figures the fence of 
fmgie wordes is altered, fo by thefe that 
follow is that of whole and entier fpeach : 
and hrft by the Courtly figure Allegoria, 
which is when we fpeake one thing and 
thinke another, and that our wordes and our meanings 
meete not. The vfe of this figure is fo large, and his 
vertue of fo great efhcacie as it is fuppofed no man 
can pleafantly vtter and perfwade without it, but in 
effect is fure neuer or very feldome to thriue and prof- 
per in the world, that cannot skilfully put in vre, in 
fomuch as not onely eueiy common Courtier, but alfo 
the graueft Counfellour, yea and the moil noble and 
wifeft Prince of them all are many times enforced to 
vfe it, by example (fay they) of the great Emperour 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 197 

who had it vfually in his mouth to fay, Qui nefcit dif 
fimulare nefcit regnare. Of this figure therefore which 
for his duplicitie we call the figure of \Jalfe femblant 
or diffimulatiofi\ we will fpeake firft as of the chief 
ringleader and captaine of all other figures, either in 
the Poeticall or oratorie fcience. 

And ye mall know that we may diffem- AUcgoHa, 
ble, I meane fpeake otherwife then we f^ u ?4 onaise 
thinke, in earneft afwell as in fport, vnder sembiant. 
couert and darke termes, and in learned and apparant 
fpeaches, in fhort fentences, and by long ambage and 
circumftance of wordes, and finally afwell when we 
lye as when we tell truth. To be fhort euery fpeach 
wrefted from his owne naturall fignification to another 
not altogether fo naturall is a kinde of diffimulation, 
becaufe the wordes beare contrary . countenaunce to 
th'intent. But properly and in his principall vertue 
Allcgoria is when we do fpeake in fence tranflatiue and 
wrefled from the owne fignification, neuertheleffe ap- 
plied to another not altogether contrary, but hauing 
much conueniencie with it as before we faid of the 
metaphore : as for example if we mould call the com- 
mon wealth, a fhippe ; the Prince a Pilot, the Coun- 
fellours mariners, the flormes wanes, the calme and 
[hauen] peace, this is fpoken all in allegorie : and be- 
caufe fuch inuerfion of fence in one fmgle worde is by 
the figure Metaphore, of whom we fpake before, and 
this manner of inuerfion extending to whole and large 
fpeaches, it maketh the figure allegoric to be called a 
long and perpetuall Metaphore. A noble man after a 
whole yeares abfence from his ladie, fent to know how 
fhe did, and whether me remayned affected toward 
him as fhe was when he left her. 

Lonely Lady L long full fore to hcare, 
Lf ye remaine the fame. 1 left yon the lafl ycare. 
To whom fhe anfwered in allegorie other two verfes : 
My louing Lorde L will well that ye wist, 
■ The thred is ffion, that neuer fliall vntwift. 
Meaning, that her loue was fo ftedfaft and conftant 



198 OF ORNAMENT, LIB. III. 

toward him as no time or occafion could alter it. Vir- 
gin in his fhepeherdly poemes called Eglogues vfed as 
rufticall but fit allegorie for the purpofe thus : 

Claudite iam riuos pueri fat praia biberunt. 
Which I Englifh thus : [fill. 

Stop vp your fir eames( my lads ) the medes haue drunk their 
As much to fay, leaue of now, yee haue talked of 
the matter inough : for the ihepheards guife in many 
places is by opening certaine fluces to water their 
paftures, fo as when they are wet inough they fhut 
them againe : this application is full Allegoricke. 

Ye haue another manner of Allegorie not full, but 
mixt, as he that wrate thus : 

The ctoudes of care haue coured all my coste, 
Theflormes offlrife, do threaten to appear e: 
The wanes of woe, wherein my fJiip is toste. 
Haue broke the banks, where lay my lifefo deere. 
Chippes of ill chance, are fallen amidft my choife, 
To mar re the minde that ment for to reioyce. 
I call him not a full Allegorie, but mixt, bicaufe he 
difcouers withall what the cloud, ftorme, wane, and the 
reft are, which in a full allegorie mould not be difcou- 
ered, but left at large to the readers iudgement and 
conieclure. 

WedifTemble againe vnder couert and darke fpea- 

Enio-ma cnes > when we fpeake by way of riddle 

or the*' {Enigma) of which the fence can hardly 

Riddle. ke picked out, but by the parties owne 

affoile, as he that faid : 

7/ is my mother well I wot, 
And yet the daughter that I begot. 
Meaning it by the ife which is made of frozen water, 
the fame being molten by the funne or fire, makes 
water againe. 

My mother had an old woman in her nurferie, who 
in the winter nights would put vs forth many prety 
ridles, whereof this is one : 

/ haue a thing and rough it is 
And in the midfl a hole Iivis : 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 199 

There came a yong man with his ginne, 
:d he put it a handfull in. 
The good old Gentlewoman would tell vs that were 
children how it was meant by a furd glooue. Some 
other naughtie body would peraduenture haue con- 
flrued it not halfe fo mannerly. The riddle is pretie 
but that it holdes too much of the Cachemphaton or 
fouie fpeach and may be drawen to a reprobate fence. 

We diuemble after a fort, when we fpeake „ . . 

bv common prouerbs, or, as we vie to call or 

n, old faid lawes/as thus : Prouerb - 

As the clde cocke crowes fo doeth the chick: 
A bad Cooke that cannot his owne fingers lick. 
Meaning by the firft, that the young learne by the 
r. either to be good or euill in their behauiours : by 
the fecond, that he is not to be counted a wife man, 
who being in authority, and hauing the adminiftration 
of many good and great things, will not feme his owne 
turne and his friends whileft he may, and many fuch 
prouerbiall fpeeches : as Totneffe is turned French, for 
a ftrange alteration : Skarborow -warning, for a fodaine 
commandement, allowing no refpect or delay to be- 
thinke a man of his bufmes. Note neuertheleffe a 
diuerfitie, for the two lafl examples be prouerbs, the 
two firft prouerbiall fpeeches. 

Ye doe likewife diffemble, when ye fpeake in derifion 
or rnockerie, and that may be many waies : as fome- 
time in fport. fometime in earneft, and priuily, and 
apertly. and pleafantly, and bitterly : but 7 . 

firft by the figure Iro?iia, which we call the or the' 

drye mock : as he that faid to a bragging Dne mock - 
, that threatened he would kill and flay, no 
doubt you are a good man of your hands : or, as it 
faid by a French king, to one that praide his re- 
ward, fhewing how he had bene cut in the face at a 
certain battell fought in his feruice : ye may fee, quoth 
the king, what it is to runne away and looke backwards. 
And as Alphonfo king of Naples, faid to one that pro- 
fered to take his ring when he wafht before dinner, 



200 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

this wil feme another well : meaning that the Gentle- 
men had another time taken them, and becaufe the king 
forgot to aske for them, neuer reftored his ring againe. 
s as7nm ^ r wnen we deride with a certaine feue- 

or the ' ritie, we may call it the bitter taunt [Sar- 
Bitter taunt C afmus~\ as Charles the fift Emperour aun- 
fwered the Duke of Arskot, befeeching him recompence 
of feruice done at the fiege of Renty, againft Henry 
the French king, where the Duke was taken prifoner, 
and afterward efcaped clad like a Colliar. Thou wert 
taken, quoth the Emperour, like a coward, and fcapedft 
like a Colliar, wherefore get thee home and liue vpon 
thine owne. Or as king Henry the eight faid to one 
of his priuy chamber, who fued for Sir Anthony Roivfe, 
a knight of Norfolke that his Maieftie would be good 
vnto him, for that he was an ill begger. Quoth the 
king againe, if he be afhamed to beg, we are afhamed 
to geue. Or as Charles the fift Emperour, hauing 
taken in battaile Iohn Frederike Duke of Saxon, with 
the Lantgraue of Heffen and others : this Duke being 
a man of monftrous bigneffe and corpulence, after the 
Emperor had feene the prifoners, faid to thofe that were 
about him, I haue gone a hunting many times, yet 
neuer tooke I fuch a fwine before. 
Asieismus. Or when we fpeake by manner of plea- 
or the fantery, or mery skoffe, that is by a kinde 
1 otSwise 6 ' of mock, whereof the fence is farre fet, and 
The cmiii lest. w ithout any gall or offence. The Greekes 
call it \_AfteifmiLs\ we may terme it the ciuill ieft, be- 
caufe it is a mirth very full of ciuilitie, and fuch as the 
mofl ciuill men doo vie. As Cato faid to one that had 
geuen him a good knock on the head with a long peece - 
of timber he bare on his fhoulder, and then bad him 
beware : what (quoth Cato) wilt thou ftrike me againe ? 
for ye know, a warning mould be geuen before a man 
haue receiued harme, and not after. And as king 
Edward the fixt, being of young yeres, but olde in wit, 
faide to one of his priuie chamber, who fued for a 
pardon for one that was condemned for a robberie, 



: 

:/.;;'- ;:>.tr Iverhre, =.:. - ye: :.:e very .;:.; i:vi fyoken 

--;:i:. ;..-.-; i h y.:ed hr/.e in :alke H = broth rrking 

:-:.:r.r :.: :>.e ra'i.e ■ ;:'". r.:r.i. fiii. I yny y-virMaieffie 

that brother, quoth die Emperor, £nce 

0:"-:.:;.' ; ":r.-;ti::.; : :e ::'.:.:": ;:-.'.::".:'.'. ;v:~:tr.a:-_;t 

is :~ :' lie : V. .r fin !;■;>;;-_ 7 iiiie ;; V :.*; .-./._- the 
-iyye i'"vy. ;: :k :":".'•:::._- y; :he r_e:e :ie . . 

i: i lieer.:-^ :rM7--e, is he ±2.: laici tc .:: ""■---"-"■=' 6 -"'■'■■ 
ki.:~-.d : ;/y/./—;.;r. 

. - . - . . Ant 

:.;r.ra-:::-:r.. :.: _ie :..;.: :a™ :. 1— 1~± r: frae 
in the ftree > his campa: 

n* : 
:: '"•;"_::.:-. :'.; ■:'.-;f.v_; ::e. in 1;;:: :o::h ye ire 1 iiire 

i : *i : e 
1 : -""ken ye riie : . m: :ke ' ~i er izi :•::!: mi -:~ij 

ri ere v. : ■ 1 iye 

:ke:ikti :i: :n :ef:, :i_e Greeks 11k :: /:,;- -- 

- 

11 e :-r::: /nV.yv" 
:ke ': 111:1 -:* :: i:kkiinki:::n. 



202 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Neuertheleffeye haueyettwo or three other figures that 
H terboie miatcn a fpi ce of the fame falfe femblant, 
or the ' but in another fort and maner of phrafe, 
°othe r rwi C 5 1 e er ' whereof one is when we fpeake in the fu- 
caiied the loud perlatiue and beyond the limit es of credit, 
that is by the figure which the Greeks call 
Hiperbole, the Latines Dementiens or the lying figure. I 
for his immoderate exceffe cal him the ouer reacher right 
with his origin all or \lowd lyar\ and me thinks not 
amiffe : now when 1 fpeake that which neither I my 
felfe thinke to be true, nor would haue any other body 
beleeue, it muft needs be a great diffimulation, be- 
caufe I meane nothing leffe then that I fpeake, and this 
maner of fpeach is vfed, when either we would greatly 
aduaunce or greatly abafe the reputation of any thing or 
perfon, and muft be vfed very difcreetly, or els it will 
feeme odious, for although a prayfe or other report 
may be allowed beyond credit, it may not be beyond 
all meafure, fpecially in the profeman, as he that was 
fpeaker in a Parliament of king Henry the eights 
raigne, in his Oration which ye know is of ordinary to 
be made before the Prince at the firil affembly of both 
houfes, [fh]ould feeme to prayfe his Maieftie thus. What 
fhould I go about to recite your Maieflies innumerable 
vertues, euen as much as if I tooke vpon me to num- 
ber the ftarres of the skie, or to tell the fands of the 
fea. This Hyperbole was both vltrafide?n and alfo vltra 
modum, and therefore of a graue and wife Counfellour 
made the fpeaker to be accompted a groffe flattering 
foole : peraduenture if he had vfed it thus, it had bene 
better and neuertheleffe a lye too, but a more moderate 
lye and no leffe to the purpofe of the kings commen- 
dation, thus. I am not able with any wordes fufficiently 
to expreffe your Maieflies regall vertues, your kingly 
merites alfo towardes vs your people and realme are fo 
exceeding many, as your prayfes therefore are infinite, 
your honour and renowne euerlafling : And yet all 
this if we mail meafure it by the rule of exacl veritie, 
is but an vntruth, yet a more cleanely commendation 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 203 

then was maifler Speakers. Neuertheleffe as I laid 
before if we fall a prayfmg, fp^cially of our miflreffes 
vertue, bewtie, or other good parts, we be allowed now 
and then to ouer-reach a little way of comparifon as he 
that faid thus in prayfe of his Lady. 
Giue place ye loiters here before, 
That /pent your boajls and braggs in vaine : 
My Ladies bewtie paffeth more, 
The bejl of yoitr I dare well fay ne : 
Then doth the funne the candle light, 
Or bright efl day the darkefl night. 
And as a certaine noble Gentlewomen lamenting at 
the vnkindneffe of her louer faid very pretily in this 
figure. 

But f once it will no better be, 
My tearesJJiall neuer blin : 
To moifl the earth in fitch degree, 
That I may drozune therein : 
That by my death all men may fay, 
Lo weemen are as frue as they. 
Then hau e ye the figure Periphrafis, hold- Perij>7irasis, 
ing fomewhat of the difsembler, by reafon FigurVof am- 
of a fecret intent not appearing by the ba s e - 
words, as when we go about the bum, and will not in 
one or a few words expreffe that thing which we de- 
fire to haue knowen, but do chofe rather to do it by 
many words, as we our felues wrote of our Soueraigne 
Lady thus : 

Whom Princes ferue, and Reahnes obay, 
And great efl of Br y ton kings begot : 
She came abroade euen yeflerday, 
When fitch as faw her, knew her not. 
And the reft that followeth, meaning her Maiefties 
perfon, which we would feeme to hide leauing her 
name vnfpoken, to the intent the reader mould geffe 
at it : neuertheleffe vpon the matter did fo manifeftly 
difclofe it, as any fimple iudgement might eafily per- 
ceiue by whom it was ment, that is by Lady Elizabeth, 
Qiteene of England and daughter to king Henry the eight, 



2C4 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

and therein refleth the diffimulation. It is one of the 
gallanted figures among the poetes fo it be vfed dif- 
cretely and in his right kinde, but many of thefe makers 
that be not halfe their craftes maifters, do very often 
abufe it and alfo many waies. For if the thing or 
perfon they go about to defcribe by circumftance, be 
by the writers improuidence otherwife bewrayed, it 
loofeth the grace of a figure, as he that faid : 

The tenth of March when Aries receiued, 
Dan Phoebus raies into his homed hed. 
Intending to defcribe the fpring of the yeare, which 
auery man knoweth of himfelfe, hearing the day of 
March named : the verfes be very good the figure 
nought worth, if it were meant in Periphrafe for the 
matter, that is the feafon of the yeare which fhould 
haue bene couertly difclofed by ambage, was by and 
by blabbed out by naming the day of the moneth, and 
fo the purpofe of the figure difapointed, peraduenture 
it had bin better to haue faid thus : 

The month and daie when Aries receiud, 
Dan Phoebus raies into his homed head. 
For now there remaineth for the Reader fomewhat 
to ftudie and geffe vpon, and yet the fpring time to 
the learned iudgement fufficiently expreffed. 

The Noble> Earle of Surrey wrote thus : 
In winters iufi retitme, when Boreas gan his raigne, 
A?id euery tree vndothed him fafi as natiwe taught them 
plaine. 
I would faine learne of fome good maker, whether 
the Earle fpake this in figure of Periphrafe or not, for 
mine owne opinion I thinke that if he ment to defcribe 
the winter feafon, he would not haue difclofed it fo 
broadly, as to fay winter at the firft worde, for that had 
bene againft the - rules of arte, and without any good 
iudgement : which in fo learned and excellent a perfon- 
age we ought not to fiifpe6l, we fay therefore that for 
winter it is no Periphrafe but language at large : we 
fay for all that, hauing regard to the feconde verfe that 
followeth it is a Periphrafe, feeming that thereby he 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 205 

intended to mew in what part of the winter his loues 
gaue him anguifh, that is in the time which we call the 
fall of the leafe, which begins in the moneth of October, 
and ftands very well with the figure to be vttered in that 
fort notwithflanding winter be named before, for winter 
hath many parts : fuch namely as do not make of the 
leafe, nor vncloth the trees as here is mencioned : thus 
may ye iudge as I do, that this noble Erie wrate 
excellently well and to purpofe. Moreouer, when a 
maker will feeme to vfe circumlocution to fet forth any 
thing pleafantly and nguratiuely, yet no leffe plaine to 
a ripe reader, then if it were named exprefly, and 
when all is done, no man can perceyue it to be the 
thing intended. This is a foule ouerfight in any 
writer as did a good fellow, who weening to fhew his 
cunning, would needs by periphrafe expreffe the realme 
of Scotland in no leffe then eight verfes, and when he 
had faid all, no man could imagine it to be fpoken of 
Scotland : and did befides many other faults in his 
verfe, fo deadly belie the matter by his defcription, as 
it would pitie any good maker to heare it. 

Now for the fhutting vp of this Chapter, Syneckdoche. 
will I remember you farther of that manner Fi °* ^ e uick 
of fpeech which theGreekes call Synecdoche, coSceite. 
and we the figure of \qnicke co?iceite~\ who for the reafons 
before alledged, may be put vnder the fpeeches 
alleg07'icall, becaufe of the darkenes and duplicitie of 
his fence : as when one would tell me how the French 
king was ouerthrow en at Saint Quintans, I am enforced 
to think that it was not the king himfelfe in perfon, 
but the Conflable of Fraunce with the French kings 
power. Or if one would fay, the towne of Andwerpe 
were famifhed, it is not fo to be taken, but of the 
people of the towne of Andwerp, and this conceit 
being drawen afide, and (as it were) from one thing to 
another, it encombers the minde with a certaine 
imagination what it may be that is meant, and not ex- 
preffed : as he that faid to a young gentlewoman, who 
was in her chamber making her felfe vnready. 




206 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Miftreffe will ye geue me leaue to vnlace your peticote, 
meaning (perchance) the other thing that might follow 
fuch vnlafmg. In the olde time, whofoeuer was allowed 
to vndoe his Ladies girdle, he might lie with her all 
night : wherfore, the taking of a womans maydenhead 
away, was faid to vndoo her girdle, Virgineam diffoluit 
sonant, faith the Poet, concerning out of a thing preced- 
ent, a thing fubfequent. This may fuffice for the 
knowledge of this figure [quicke conceit .] 

CHAP. XIX. 

Of Figures f attentions, otherwife called Rhetoricall. 

Ow if our prefuppofall be true, that the Poet 
is of all other the moil auncient Orator, 
as he that by good and pleafant perfwa- 
fions firft reduced the wilde and beaftly 
people into publicke focieties and ciuilitie 
of life, infmuating vnto them, vnder fictions with 
fweete and coloured fpeeches, many wholefome leffons 
and doctrines, then no doubt there is nothing fo fitte 
for him, as to be furnifhed with all the figures that be 
Rhetoricall, and fuch as do moil beau title language with 
eloquence and fententioufnes. Therfore, fmce we 
haue already allowed to our maker his auricular figures, 
and alfo his fenfable, by which ail the words and 
claufes of his meeters are made as well tunable to the 
eare, as ftirring to the minde, we are now by order to 
beftow vpon him thofe other figures which may exe- 
cute both offices, and all at once to beautifle and geue 
fence and fententioufnes to the whole language at 
large. So as if we mould intreate our maker to play 
alfo the Orator, and whether it be to pleade, or to 
praife, or to aduife, that in all three cafes he may vtter, 
and alfo perfwade both copioufly and vehemently. 

And your figures rhethoricall, befides their remem- 
bred ordinarie vertues, that is, fententioufnes, and 
copious amplification, or enlargement of language, doe 
alfo conteine a certaine fweet and melodious manner of 
fpeech, in which refpecT, they may, after a, fort, be faid 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 207 

auricular : becaufe the eare is no leffe rauifhed with 
their currant tune, than the mind is with their fenten- 
tioufnes. For the eare is properly but an inflrument 
of conueyance for the minde, to apprehend the fence 
by the found. And our fpeech is made melodious or 
harmonicall, not onely by ftrayned tunes, as thofe of 
Mufick, but alfo by choife of fmoothe words : and thus, 
or thus, marfhalling them in their comelieft conftruclion 
and order, and afwell by fometimes fparing, fometimes 
fpending them more or leffe liberally, and carrying or 
tranfporting of them farther off or neerer, fetting them 
with fundry relations, and variable formes, in the 
miniftery and vfe of words, doe breede no little altera- 
tion in man. For to fay truely, what els is man but 
his minde? which, whofoeuer haue skil to compaffe, 
and make yeelding and flexible, what may not he com- 
maund the body to perfourme ? He therefore that 
hath vanquifhed the minde of man, hath made the 
greateft and moft glorious conqueft. But the minde 
is not affailable vnleffe it be by fenfible approches, 
whereof the audible is of greateft force for inflruclion 
or difcipline : the vifible, for apprehenfion of exterior 
knowledges as the Philofopher faith. Therefore the 
well tuning of your words and claufes to the delight of 
the eare, maketh your information no leffe plaufible to 
the minde than to the eare : no though you filled them 
with neuer fo much fence and fententioufnes. Then 
alfo muft the whole tale (if it tende to perfwafion) beare 
his iufl and reafonable meafure, being rather with the 
largefl, than with the fcarceft. For like as one or two 
drops of water perce not the flint ftone, but many and 
often droppings doo : fo cannot a few words (be they 
neuer fo pithie or fententious) in all cafes and to all 
manner of mindes, make fo deepe an impreffion, as a 
more multitude of words to the purpofe difcreetely, and 
without fuperfluitie vttered : the minde being no leffe 
vanquifhed with large loade of fpeech, than the limmes 
are with heauie burden. Sweetenes of fpeech, fen- 
tence, and amplification, are therfore necefiarie to an 



2o8 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

excellent Orator and Poet, ne may in no wife be 
fpared from any of them. 

And firft of all others your figure that worketh by 
iteration or repetition of one word or claufe doth much 
alter and affect the eare and alfo the mynde" of the 
hearer, and therefore is counted a very braue figure 
both with the Poets and rhetoriciens, and this repeti- 
tion may be in feuen fortes. 

Repetition in the firft degree we call the figure of 
AnafJwra, Report according to the Greeke originall, 
Figure e f Re- anc ^ * s when we make one word begin, 
port. and as they are wont to fay, lead the daunce 

to many verfes in fute, as thus. 

To thinke on death it is a miferie, 
To think on life it is a vanitie : 
To thinke on the world verily it is, 
To thinke that heare ma?i hath no pei'fit bliffe. 
And this written by Sir Walter Raleigh of his great- 
er! miftreffe in moil excellent verfes. 

In vayne mine eyes hi v aim you waft your teares, 
In vayne my fighs the f mokes of my defpaires: 
In vayne you fearch th? earth and heauens aboue, 
In vayne ye feeke, for fortune keeps my loue. 
Or as the buffon in our enterlude called Lujiie Ion- 
don faid very knauifhly and like himfelfe. 
Many a fair e laffe in London towne, 
Many a bavvdie basket borne vp and downe\ 
Many a broker in a thridbare gowne. 
Many a bankrowte fcarce worth a crowne. 

In London. 
Ye haue another fort of repetition quite contrary to 
A .:. x7 the former when ye make one word finifh 
or the ' many verfes in fute, and that which is harder, 

Counter turne. tQ ^fa many c l au f eS i n the m iddefl of yOUr 

verfes or dittie (for to make them finifh the verfe in 
our vulgar it fhould hinder the rime) and becaufe I do 
finde few of our Englifh makers vfe this figure, I haue 
fet you down two litle ditties which our felues in our 
yonger yeares played vpon the Anti/lrophe, for fo is 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 209 

the figures name in Greeke : one vpon the mutable loue 
of a Lady, another vpon the meritorious loue of Chrift 
our Sauiour, thus. 

Her lowly lookes, that gaue life to my lone, 
With sp it ef till f peach, curfilneffe andcrueltie: 
She kild my lone, let her rigour remoue, 
Her cherefull lights andfpeaches ofpitie 
Reuiue my loue : anone with great difdaine, 
She JJiunnes my loue, and after by a traine 
She feekes my loue, and faith JJie tones me mofii, 
Butfeingher loue, fo lightly wonne andlofl: 
I longd not for her loue, for well 1 thought, 
Fir me is the loue, if it be as it ought. 
The fecond vpon the merites of Chrifles paffion to- 
ward mankind, thus, 

Our CJwifl ihefonne of God, chief authour of all good, 
Was he by his allmight, thatfirfl created man : 
And with the coflly price, of his mofl precious bloud, 
He that redeemed man : and by his instance wan 
Grace in the fight of God, his oiiely father deare, 
And reconciled man : and to make man his peer e 
Made himfelfe very man: brief to conclude the cafe, 
This Chrifiboth God and man, he all and onely is : 
The man brings man to God and to all heaue?ts bliffe. 
The Greekes call this figure A?itiflrophe, the Latines, 
conuerfio, I following the originall call him the counter- 
turne, becaufe he turnes counter in the middeft of 
euery meetre.. 

Take me the two former figures and put them into 
one, and it is that which the Greekes call n 

/• r 7 i t ■ 7 77- £>yinploche, 

fymploche, the Latmes complexio, or conduph- or the 
catio, and is a maner of repetition, when one figure of rephe ' 
and the felfeword doth begin and end many verfes in fute 
and fo wrappes vp both the former figures in one, as he 
that fportingly complained of hisvntruflie miftreffe, thus. 
Who made meflient for her loues fake ? 

Myne owne miftreffe. 
Who would 7iot feeme my part to take. 
Myne owne miftreffe. 
o 



210 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

What made mefirftfo well content 

Her curtefie. 
What makes me now fo fore repent 
Her crueltie. 
The Greekes name this figure Symploche, the Latins 
Complexio, perchaunce for that he feemes to hold in 
and to wrap vp the verfes by reduplication, fo as 
nothing can fall out. I had rather call him the figure 
of replie. 
, ,.,, . Ye haue another fort of repetition when 

Anadifilosis, • ^ ^ i • r -n 

or the with the worde by which you fimlh your 

Redouble. ver [ ej ve beginne the next verfe with the 
fame, as thus: 

Comforte it is for man to haue a wife, 
Wife chaft, and wife, and lowly all her life. 
Or thus : 

Your beutie was the can fe of my firfl loue, 
Looue while I Hue, that I may fore repent. 
The Greeks call this figure Anadiplofis, I call him 
the Redouble as the originall beares. 
Epanaiepsis, Ye haue an other forte of repetition, when 
or the ye make one worde both beginne and end 
otherwise,' your verfe, which therefore I call the flow 
the slow return. re toume, otherwife the Eccho found, as thus : 
Much mufl he be beloued, that loueth much, 
Feare many mufl he needs, whom many feare. 
Vnleffe I called him the eccho found, I could not tell 
what name to giue him, vnleffe it were the flow returne. 
Epizetixis, Ye haue another fort of repetition 

the ' when in one verfe or claufe of a verfe, ye 
n e r ay ' iterate one word without any intermiflion, 

Coocko-spel. as t^g. 

It was Maryne, Maryne that wrought mine 7uoe. 

And this bemoaning the departure of a deere friend. 
The chief est ftaffe of mine ajfuredfay, 
With no f mall grief e, is gon, is gon away. 

And that of Sir Walter Raleighs very fweet. 
With wif domes eyes had but blind fortune feene, 
Than had my looue, my looue for euer beene. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 211 

The Greeks call him Epizeuxis, the Latines Sub- 
iunclio, we may call him the vnderlay, me thinks if we 
regard his manner of iteration, and would depart from 
the originall, we might very properly, in our vulgar and 
for pleafure call him the cuckowfpell^ for right as the 
cuckow repeats his lay, which is but one manner of 
note, and doth not infert any other tune betwixt, and 
fometimes for haft Hammers out two or three of them 
one immediatly after another, as cuck, cuck, cuckoiu, fo 
doth the figure Epizeuxis in the former verfes, Maryne, 
Maryne, without any intermiffion at all. 

Yet haue ye one forte of repetition, which pi oc he 
we call the dottbler, and is as the next be- j? rt] ] e 
fore, a fpeedie iteration of one word, but 
with fome little intermiffion by inferring one or two 
words betweene, as in a moil excellent dittie written 
by Sir Walter Raleigh thefe two clofmg verfes : 

Yet when If awe my felfe to you was true, 
I loued my felfe, bycattfe my felfe lotted you. 
And this fpoken in common Prouerbe. 

An ape vvilbe an ape, by kinde as they fay, 
Though that ye clad him all in purple array. 
Or as we once fported vpon a fellowes name who 
was called Woodcock, and for an ill part he had plaid 
entreated fauour by his friend. 

I pi'aie you intreate no more for the man, 
Woodcocke vvilbe a vvoodcocke do what ye can. 
Now alfo be there many other fortes of repetition if 
a man would vfe them, but are nothing commendable, 
and therefore are not obferued in good poefie, as a 
vulgar rimer who doubled one word in the end of euery 
verfe, thus: adieu, adieu, 

my face, my face. 
And an other that did the like in the beginning of his 
verfe, thus: 

To louehim and loue him, asft?tnersfJiottlddoo. 
Thefe repetitions be not figuratiue but phantaftical, 
for a figure is euer vfed to a purpofe, either of beautie 
or of emcacie : and thefe laft recited be to no purpofe, 



212 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

for neither can ye fay that it vrges affection, nor that 
it beautifieth or enforceth the fence, nor hath any other 
fubtilitie in it, and therfore is a very foolifh impertin- 
ency of fpeech, and not a figure. 

Ye haue a figure by which ye play with a couple of 
D . words or names much refemblinsr, and be- 

Prosoiwmasia, «p 7 

or the caufe the one feemes to anfwere th other by 
Nicknamer. manner of illuhon, and doth, as it were, 
nick him, I call him the Nicknamer. If any other man 
can geue him a fitter Englifh name, I will not be 
angrfe, but I am fure mine is very neere the originall 
fence of the Profonomafia, and is rather a by-name 
geuen in fport, than a furname geuen of any earneft 
purpofe. As, Tiberius the Emperor, becaufe he was a 
great drinker of wine, they called him by way of deri- 
fion to his owne name, Caldius Biberius Mero, in fleade 
of Claudius Tiberius Nero : and fo a iefting frier that 
wrate againft Erafmus, called him by refemblance to 
his own name, Errans mus, and are mainteined by 
this figure Profonomafiia, or the Nicknamer. But euery 
name geuen in iefl or by way of a furname, if it do not 
refemble the true, is not by this figure, as, the Emperor 
of Greece, who was furnamed Confiantinus Cepronimus, 
becaufe he befhit the foont at the time he was chrift- 
ened: and fo ye may fee the difference betwixt the 
figures Ant ono mafia and Profonomatia. Now when 
fuch refemblance happens betweene words of another 
nature, and not vpon mens names, yet doeth the Poet 
or maker finde prety fport to play with them in his 
verfe, fpecially the Comicall Poet and the Epigram- 
matift. Sir Philip Sidney in a dittie plaide very pretily 
with thefe two words, Loue and Hue, thus. 
And all my life I will confeffe, 
The leffe I loue, I Hue the leffe. 
And we in our Enterlude called the woer, plaid 
with thefe two words, lubber and loner, thus, the coun- 
trey clowne came and woed a young maide of the 
Citie, and being agreeued to come fo oft, and not to 
haue his anfwere, faid to the old nurfe very impatiently. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 213 

Iche pray you, good mother tell our young W6er. 

dame, 
Whence I am come and what is my name, 
I cannot come a woing euery day. 

Quoth the nurfe. 
They be lubbers not loners that fo vfe to fay. Nurse. 

Or as one replyed to his miftreffe charging him with 
fame difloyaltie towards her. 

Proue me madame ere ye fall to reproue, 
MeeJze mindes fliould rather excufe than accufe. 

Here the words proue and reproue, excufe and ac- 
cufe, do pleafantly encounter, and (as it were) mock 
one another by their much refemblance : and this is 
by the figure Profonomatia, as wel as if they were 
mens proper names, alluding to each other. 

Then haue ye a figure which the Latines -.-/... 

7 _ . J 1 _? i'i -* raductio, 

call Traduclw, and I the tranlacer : which or the 

is when ye turne and tranlace a word into Tranlacer. 
many fundry fhapes as the Tailor doth his garment, 
and after that fort do play with him in your dittie : as 
thus, 

Who lines in loue his life is full of fear es, 
To lofe his loue, liitelode or libertie 
But liuely fp rites that young and recklejfe be, 
Thinke that there is no lining like to theirs. 
Or as one who much gloried in his owne wit, whom 
Perfius taxed in a verfe very pithily and pleafantly, 
thus. 

Scire tuum nihil efl nifi te fcire, hoc fciat alter. 
Which I haue turned into Englifh, not fo briefly, 
but more at large of purpofe the better to declare the 
nature of the figure : as thus, 

Thou vveeneft thy wit nought worth if other 

weet it not 

As wel as thou thy f elf e, but thi?ig well I wot, 

V/ho fo in earnefi weenes, he doth i?i mine aduife, 

Shew himfelfe witlejfe, or more wittie than wife. 

Here ye fee how in the former rime this word life 

is tranlaced into liue, liuing, liuely, liuelode : and in 



2i 4 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

the latter rime this word wit is tranflated into weete, 
weene, wotte, witleffe, witty and wife : which come all 
from one originall. 

Antipophora, Ye haue a figuratiue fpeach which the 
FIo . ure or of re _ Greeks cal Antipopli07-a, I name him the 
sponce, Refponce, and is when we will feeme to 

aske a queflion to th'intent we will aunfwere it our 
felues, and is a figure of argument and alfo of ampli- 
fication. Of argument, becaufe proponing fuch matter 
as our aduerfarie might obiecl: and then to anfwere it 
our felues, we do vnfurniili and preuent him of fuch 
helpe as he would otherwife haue vfed for himfelfe : 
then becaufe fuch obieclion and anfwere fpend much 
language it femes as well to amplifie and enlarge our 
tale. Thus for example. 

Wylie worldling come tell me I thee pray, 
Wherein hopejl thou, that makes thee fo to /well? 
Riches ? alack it taries not a day, 
But where fortune the fickle lift to dwell: Q/ 
In thy children ? how hardlie JJialt thoufinde, 
Them all at once,. good and thriftie and kinde : 
Thy wife ? of aire but fraile mettall to truft, i 
Seruants ? what theeues ? what treachours aiid iniujll 
Honour perchance ? it refles in other men : 
Gloriel afmoake: but wherein hopefl thou then! 
In Gods iuftice ? and by what merite tell ? 
In his mercy ? - 6 now thou speakeft wel, 
But thy lewd life hath loft his lone and grace, 
Daunting all hope to put difpaire in place. 
We read that Crates the Philofopher Cinicke in 
refpect of the manifold difcommodities of mans life, 
held opinion that it was bell for man neuer to haue 
bene borne or foone after to dye, \Optimum non nafci 
vel citb mori\ of whom certain e verfes are left written 
in Greeke which I haue Englilhed, thus. 
What life is the lief eft ? the needy is full of woe and awe, 
The wealthie full of brawle and brabbles of the law : 
To be a maried man ? how much art thou begidld, ~tr 
Seeking thy reft by carke, for houjliold wife and child : 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 215 

To till it is a toyle, to grafeyome honeft gaine, 
But fuch as gotten is with great hazard and ' paine : 
The fay I er of his fliippe, the mar chant of his ware, 
The fouldicr in amies, how full of dread and care? 
Afhrewd wife brings thee bate, wine not and neuer thriue, 
Children a charge, childleffe the greatest lacke aliue: 
Youth witleffe is and fraile, ageficklie and for lor ne, 
Then better to dye foone, or neuer to be borne. 

Metrodorus the Philofopher Stoick was of a contrary 
opinion reuerfmg all the former fuppofitions againft 
Crates, thus. 

What life lift ye to lead? in good Citie and towne 
Is wonne both wit and wealth, Court gets vs great re- 

nowne : 
Conn trey kcepes vs in heale, and quietneffe ofmynd, \find: 
Where holefome aires and exercife and pretie fports we 
Traffick it turnes to gaine, by land and eke by feas, 
The land-borne Hues fafe, the forreine at his eafe : 
Haujholder hath his home, the roge romes with delight, 
And makes moe merry meales, then doth the Lordly wight: 
Wed and thou hafl a bed, of folace and of ioy, 
Wed not and haue a bed, of rest without annoy : , 
The fetled lone is fafe, fweete is the loue at large, 
Children they are a flore, no children are no charge, 
Lufiie and gay is youth, old age honourd a?id wife : s 
Then not to dye or be vnborne, is befl in myne aduife. 

Edward Earle of Oxford a moft noble and learned 
Gentleman made in this figure of refponce an emble 
of defire otherwife called Cupide which from his ex- 
cellencie and wit, I fet downe fome part of the verfes, 
for example. 

When wert thou borne defire ? 

In pompe and pry me of May, 

By whom fweete boy wert thou begot ? 

By good conceit me7i fay, 

Tell me who was thy nurfe ? 

FrefJi youth in fugred ioy. 

What was thy meate a?id dayly foode ? 

Sadfighes with great annoy. 



216 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

What Jiadft thou then to drinke ? 
Vnfayned loners teares. 
What cradle wert thou roekcd in ? 
In hope deuoyde of fear es. 
Ye haue another figure which me thinkes may well 
c . . be called (not much fweruing from his 

Syneciosis, ••«-*■ \ 1 ^ rr 7-1 r 

or the ongmall m fence) the troffe-couple, becaufe 
Crosse copiing. it takeg me twQ contrary wor ds, and tieth 

them as it were in a paire of couples, and fo makes 
them agree like good fellowes, as I faw once in 
Fraunce a wolfe coupled with a maftiffe, and a foxe 
with a hounde. Thus it is. 

The niggards fault and the vnthrifts is all one, 

For neither of them both knoweth how to if e his owne. 

Or thus. 

The couetous mifer, of all his goods ill got, 
Afwell wants that lie hath, as that he hath not. 
In this figure of the Croffe-couple we wrate for a for- 
lorne louer complaining of his miftreffe crueltie thefe 
verfes among other. 

1'hus for your fake I dayly dye, 
And do but feme to Hue in deede : 
Tims is my blijfe but miferie, 
My liter e loffe without your meede. 

Ye haue another figure which by his 
or the nature we may call the Rebound, alluding 

Rebounde. t0 the tenn j s k a n w hich being fmitten 
with the racket reboundes backe againe, and where 
the laft figure before played with two wordes fomewhat 
like, this playedi with one word written all alike but 
carrying diuers fences as thus. 

The maide that foone mai'ried is, foone marred is. 
Or thus better becaufe married and marred be differ- 
ent in one letter. 

To pray for you euer I cannot refufe, 
To pray zp on you IfJiould you much abufe. 
Or as we once fported vpon a countrey fellow who 
came to runne for the belt game, and was by his 
occupation a dyer and had very bigge fwelling legges. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 217 

He is but courfe to runne a coitrfe, 
Whofe JJiankes are bigger then his thye : 
Yet is his lucke a little worfe, 
That often dyes 'before he dye. 
Where ye fee this word courfe and dye, vfed in diuers 
fences, one giuing the Reboimde vpon th' other. 

Ye haue a figure which as well by his Greeke and 
Latine originals, and alfo by allufion to the maner of 
a mans gate or going may be called the marching 
figure, for after the firft fteppe all the reft proceede by 
double the fpace, and fo in our fpeach one word pro- 
ceedes double to the firft that was fpoken, and goeth 
as it were by ftrides Qr paces ; it may afwell be called 
the clyming figure, for Clymax is as much ciymax. 
to fay as a ladder, as in one of our Epi- Ma ° c r h ^t fi- 
taphes fhewing how a very meane man by gure. 
his wifedome and good fortune came to great eftate 
and dignitie. 

His vertue made him wife, his wifedome brought him 

wealth, 
His wealth zvan many friends, his friends made much 

fupply : 
Of aides in zueale and woe infickneffe and in health, 
Thus came he from a low, to fit in feate fo hye. 
Or as Ihean de Mehune the French Poet. 

Peace makes plentie, plentie makes pride, 
Pride breeds quarrell, and quarrell ' bri7igs warre: 
Warre brings fpoile, and fpoile pouertie, 
Pouertie patience, and pacie?ice peace : 
So peace brings ivarre, and warre brings peace. 
Ye haue a figure which takes a couple . 4 . " , 
of words to play with m a verfe, and by or the 
making them to chaunge andfhift one into Countercharge. 
others place they do very pretily exchange and fhift 
the fence, as thus. 

We dwell not here to build vs boures, 
And halles for pleafure and good cheare : 
But halles we build for vs and ours, 
To dwell in them whitest we are here. 



2i8 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Meaning that we dwell not here to build, but we 
build to dwel, as we Hue not to eate, but eate to liue, 
or thus. 

We wiJJi not peace to maintaine era ell warre, 
But we make warre to maintaine vs in peace. 
Or thus, 

If Poefie be, as fome haue f aid, 
A f peaking picture to the eye : 
Then is a picture not denaid, 
To be a muet Poefie. 
Or as the Philofopher Mufonius wrote. 

With pleafure if we worke vnhonestly and ill, 
The pleaf lire paffeth, the bad it bidethflill: 
Well if we worke with trauaile and with paines, 
The paine pajfeth and still the good re?naines. 
A wittie fellow in Rome wrate under the Image of 
Ccefar the Di6lator thefe two verfes in Latine, which 
becaufe they are fpoken by this figure of Counter- 
chaunge I haue turned into a couple of Englifh verfes 
very well keeping the grace of the figure. 
Brutus for caflingout of kings, was firft of Confuls past, 
Ccefarfor cafling Confuls out, is of our kings the last. 

Cato of any Senatour not onely the graueft but alfo 
the prompteft and wittieft in any ciuill fcoffe, miiliking 
greatly the engroffmg of offices in Rome that one man 
fhould haue many at once, and a great number goe 
without that were as able men, faid thus by Counter- 
chaunge. 

It feemes your offices are very litle worth, 
Or very few of you worthy of offices. 
Againe : 

In trifles earnest as any man can bee, 
In earnest matters no fuch trifler as hee. 
T 7U u . Yee haue another figure much like to 

Insultatio, 10/- i • r -\ 

or the the Sarcafmus, or bitter taunt wee lpake 

Disdainefull. of J3 e f ore . an( J Jg w J ien ^ft prou( i an d 

infolent words, we doo vpbraid a man, or ride him as 
we terme it : for which caufe the Latines alfo call it 
Infultatio, I choofe to name him the Reprochfull or 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 219 

/corner, as when Queene Dido law, that for all her 
great loue and entertainements beftowed vpon sEneas, 
he would needs depart, and follow the Oracle of his 
deftinies, fhe brake out in a great rage and faid very 
difdainefully. 

Hye thee, and by the wild wanes a?id the wind, 
Seeke Italie and Realmes for thee to raigne, 
If piteous Gods haue power amidst the mayne, 
On ragged rocks thy penaunce thou maiflfind. 
Or as the poet luuenall reproched the couetous 
Merchant, who for lucres fake paffed on no perill 
either by land or fea, thus : 

Goe now and giue thy life vnto the winde, 
Trusting vnto a piece of bruckle wood, 
Foure inches from thy death or feauen good 
The thickefl pla?ike for fliipboord that wefinde. 
Ye haue another figure very pleafant and fit for 
amplification, which to anfwer the Greeke Antuheton 
terme, we may call the encounter, but fol- or the 
lowing the Latine name by reafon of his The renconter - 
contentious nature, we may call him the Quarreller, 
for fo be al fuch perfons as delight in taking the con- 
trary part of whatfoeuer fhalbe fpoken : when I was 
a fcholler at Oxford they called euery fuch one 
Iohannes ad oppofitum. 

Good haue I doone you, much, harme did I neuer none, 

Ready to ioy your gaines, your loffes to bemone, 

Why therefore fJiould you grutchfo fore at my welfare: 

Who onely bred your bliffe, and neuer caufcl your care. 

Or as it is in thefe two verfes where one fpeaking 

of Cupids bowe, deciphered thereby the nature of fen- 

fual loue, whofe beginning is more pleafant than the 

end, thus allegorically and by antitheton. 

His bent is fweete, his loofe is fomewhat fowre, 
In ioy begunne, ends oft in wofull howre. 
Maifter Diar in this quarrelling figure. 
Nor loue hath now the force, on me which it ones had, 
Your f row nes can neither maize me mourne, nor fauors 
make me glad. 



220 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Ifocrates the Greek Oratour was a litle too full of 
this figure, and fo was the Spaniard that wrote the life 
of Marcus Aurelius, and many of our moderne writers 
in vulgar, vfe it in exceffe and incurre the vice of fond 
affectation : otherwife the figure is very commendable. 

In this quarrelling figure we once plaid this merry 
Epigrame of an importune and fhrewd wife, thus : 
My neighbour hath a wife, not fit to make him thriue, 
But good to kill a quicke man, or make a dead reuiue. 
So JhrewdJJie is for God, fo cunning and fo wife, 
To counter with her goodman, and all by contraries. £- 
For when he is merry ,Jhe lurcheth andflie loures, v/W-\ 
When he is fad fJie finges , or laughes it out by houres. r 
Bid her beflill her tongue to talkefJiall neuer ceafe, [peace, 
Wheiiftiefiiouldfpeake andpleafe,forfpightfiie holds her 
Bid f pare andfhe willfpend, bid fpend ftie fpares as f aft, 
What fir ft ye would haue done, be f tire itjhalbe laft. 
Say go, fiie comes, fay come, fthe goes, and leaues him all 

alone, 
Her husband (as I thinke) calles her ouerthwart lone. 

There is a kinde of figuratiue fpeach when we aske 
„ . many queftions and looke for none 

or the ' anfwere, fpeaking indeed by interrogation, 
Questioner. w hich we might as well fay by affirmation. 
This figure I call the Queftioner or inquifitiue, as 
whan Medea excufmg her great crueltie vfed in the 
murder of her owne children which fhe had by lafon, 
faid : 

Was I able to make them I praie you tell, 
And am 1 not able to marre them all afvvell ? 

Or as another wrote very commendably. 
Why firiue I with the ftreame, or hoppe againftthe hill, 
Or fear ch that neuer can be found, andloofe my labour ftill? 

Cato vnderftanding that the Senate had appointed 
three citizens of Rome for embaffadours to the king of 
Bithinia, whereof one had the Gowte, another the 
Meigrim, the third very little courage or difcretion to 
be employd in any fuch bufmeffe, faid by way of 
skoffe in this figure. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 221 

Mitft not (trovve ye) this meffage be well fped, 
That hath neither hearty nor heeles, nor lied ? 
And as a great Princeffe aunfwered her feruitour, 
who diftrufting in her fauours toward him, praifed his 
owne conftancie in thefe verfes. 

No fortune bafe or fray le can alter me : 
To whome fhe in this figure repeting his words : 
No for time bafe or fray I e can alter thee. 
And can fo blind a witch fo con que re niee ? 
The figure of exclamation, I call him [the outcrie] 
becaufe it vtters our minde by all fuch Ecf>honisis 
words as do fhew any extreme paffion, or the 
whether it be by way of exclamation or 0utcr y- 
crying out, admiration or wondering, imprecation or 
curfing, obteflation or taking God and the world to 
witnes, or any fuch like as declare an impotent af- 
fection, as Chaucer of the Lady Creffeida by exclama- 
tion. 

O foppe of forrow foonken into care, 
O caytife Creffeid, for now and euermare. 
Or as Gafcoigne wrote very paffionatly and well to 
purpofe. 

Ay me the dayes that I i7i dole confume, 
Alas the nights which vvitneffe well mine woe : 
O wrong full world which makefl my fa?icie fume, 
Fie fickle fortune, fie, fie thou art my foe: 
Out and alas fo froward is ??iy chance, 
No nights nor daies, nor w or Ides can me auance. 
Petrarche in a fonet which Sir Thomas Wiat Eng- 
lifhed excellently well, faid in this figure by way of 
imprecation and obteflation : thus, 
Terdie I faid it not, 
Nor neuer thought to doo : 
Afwell as I ye wot, 
I haue 710 power thereto : 
" And if I did the lot 
That firfil did me enchaine, 
May 7teuer flake the k7iot 
But flraite it to 77iy paine. 



222 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

"And if I did each thing, 
That may do harme or woe : 
Continually may wring, 
My harte where fo I goe. 
" Report may alwaies ring : 
OfJIiame on me for aye, 
If in my hart did fipring, 
The woi'des that you doo fay. 
" And if 1 did eachfilarre, 
That is in heauen aboue. 
And fo forth, &c. 

We vfe fometimes to proceede all by fmgle words, 

BracMoio a > v i tnout anv c ^°^ e or coupling, failing that 

or the 5 ' a little paoife or comma is geuen to euery 

Cutted comma WQrd> Thig figure for p l ea f ure may fc e 

called in our vulgar the cutted comma, for that there can- 
not be a fhorter diuifion then at euery words end. The 
Greekes in their language call it fhort language, as thus. 
Enuy, malice, flattery, difdaine, 
Auarice, deceit, falfiJied, filthy game. 
If this loofe language be vfed, not in fmgle words, 
but in long claufes, it is called Afindeton, and in both 
cafes we vtter in that fafhion, when either we be ear- 
ned, or would feeme to make haft. 

Ye haue another figure which we may call the figure 
Pari-on °^ euen > becaufe it goeth by claufes of egall 
or the ' quantitie, and not very long, but yet not 

Figure of euen. fo ^^ as the cutted comma . and they 

geue good grace to a dittie, but fpecially to a profe. 

In this figure we once wrote in a melancholike humor 

thefe verles. 

The good is geafon, andfJiort is his abode, 
The bad bides long, and eafie to be found : 
Oitr life is loathfome, our finnes a heauy lode, 
Confidence a citrst iudge, remorfie a priuie goade. 
JDij eafie, age and death filill in our eare they round, 
That hence we mufil the fickly and the found : 
Treadi7ig thefileps that our forefathers troad, 
Rich, poore, holy, wife, allflefJi it goes to ground. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 223 

In a profe there fhould not be vfed at once of fuch 
euen claufes pafl three or foure at the moil. 

When fo euer we multiply our fpeech by many 
words or claufes of one fence, the Greekes sinonimia 
call it Sinonimia, as who would fay, or the 
like or confenting names: the Latines Figure of store - 
hauing no fltte terme to giue him, called it by a name 
of euent, for (faid they) many words of one nature and 
fence, one of them doth expound another. And 
therefore they called this figure the \Interpreter\ I for 
my part had rather call him the figure of [ftore] be- 
caufe plenty of one manner of thing in our vulgar we 
call fo. JELneas asking whether his Captaine Qro?ites 
were dead or aliue, vfed this ftore of fpeeches all to 
one purpofe. 

Is he aliue, 

Is he as I left him queauing and quick, 
And hath he not yet geuen vp the ghost, 
Among the reft of thofe that I hane lost ? 
Or if it be in fmgle words, then thus. 

What is become of that beantifull face, 
Thofe lonely lookes, that fauour amiable, 
Thofe fweete features, and vif age full of grace, 
That countenance which is alonly able 
To kill and cure 1 
Ye fee that all thefe words, face, lookes, fauour, 
features, vifage, countenance, are in fence all but one. 
Which ftore, neuertheleffe, doeth much beautifie and 
inlarge the matter. So faid another. 
My faith, my hope, my truft, my God and eke my guide, 
Stretch forth thy hand to fane the foule, what ere the 
body bide. 

Here faith, hope and trull be words of one effect, 
allowed to vs by this figure of llore. 

Otherwhiles we fpeake and be forry for it, as if we 
had not wel fpoken, fo that we feeme to 
call in our word -agame, and to put in an- or the ' 
other fitter for the purpofe : for which re- Pemtent - 
fpecls the Greekes called this manner of fpeech the 



224 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. II I. 

figure of repentance : then for that vpon repentance 
commonly follows amendment, the Latins called it the 
figure of correction, in that the fpeaker feemeth to re- 
forme that, which was faid amiffe. I following the 
Greeke originall, choofe to call him the penitent, or 
repentant : and fmging in honor of the mayden Queene, 
meaning to praife her for her greatneffe of courage, 
ouerfhooting myfelfe, called it firft by the name of 
pride : then fearing leafl fault might be found with 
that terme, by and by turned this word pride to praife : 
refemblmg her Maiefty to the Lion, being her owne 
noble armory, which by a Hie conftruction purporteth 
Thus in the latter end of a Parthemiade. 
O peereles you, or els no one aliue, 
" Your pride femes you to feaze them all alone : 
" Not pride madame, but praife of the lion. 
To conquer all and be conquer d by none. 
And in another Parthemiade thus infmuating her 
Maiefties great conftancy in refufall of all marriages 
ofifred her, thus : 

" Her heart is hid none may it fee, 
" Marble or flint e folke vveene it be. 
Which may imploy rigour and cruelty, than cor- 
rect eth it thus. 

Not flinte I trovve I am a lier, 
But Siderite that feeles no fire. 
By which is intended, that it proceeded of a cold 
and chaft complexion not eafily allured to loue. 
. A We haue another manner of fpeech much 

./i 7t 'C71CI o'OP'C 

or the like to the repentant, but doth not as the 

Recompencer. fame recant or ^f ay a wor d t h at hath 

bene faid before, putting another fitter in his place, 
but hauing fpoken any thing to depraue the matter or 
partie, he denieth it not, but as it were helpeth it 
againe by another more fauourable fpeach : and fo 
feemeth to make amends, for which caufe it is called 
by the originall name in both languages, the Recom- 
pencer, as he that was merily asked the queftion, 
whether his wife were not a fhrewe as well as others 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 225 

of his neighbours wiues, anfwered in this figure as 
pleafantly, for he could not well denie it. 

/ mufi needs fay, that my wife is aflirevve, 
But fuch a hufwife as I know but a fevve. 
Another in his firft prepofition giuing a very faint com- 
mendation to the Courtiers life, weaning to make him 
amends, made it worfer by a fecond propofition, thus : 
The Courtiers life full delicate it is, 
But where no wife man will euer fet his blis. 
And an other fpeaking to the incoragement of 
youth in ftudie and to be come excellent in letters 
and armes, faid thus : 

Many are the paines and perils to be pafl, 
But great is the gain e and glory at the lafl. 
Our poet in his fhort ditties, but fpecially ___ 

. L . . . n .. r - Epithonema. 

playing the Lpigrammatilt will vie to con- or the 
elude and fhut vp his Epigram with a verfe Surclose - 
or two, fpoken in fuch fort, as it may feeme a manner 
of allowance to all the premiffes, and that with a ioy- 
full approbation, which the Latines call Acclamatio, 
we therefore call this figure the furcloze or conferring 
clofe, as Virgill when he had largely fpoken of Prince 
Eneas his fucceffe and fortunes concluded with this 
clofe. 

Tantce molis erat Roman a jn condere gent em. 
In Englifh thus : 

So huge a peece ofworke it was and fo hie. 
To reare the houfe of Ramane progenie. 
Sir Philip Sidney very pretily clofed vp a dittie in 
this fort. 

What medcine then, can fuch difeafe remoue, 
rre loue breedes hate, and hate engenders loue. 
And we in Partheniade written of her Maieflie, de- 
claring to what perils vertue is generally fubiecl, and 
applying that fortune to her felfe, clofed it vp with 
this Epiphoneme. 

Than if there bee, 
Any fo cancard hart to grutch, 
At your glories : my Queene : in vaine, 
p 



226 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Repining at your fat all raigne : 
It is for that they feele too much. 
Of your bountee. 
As who would fay her owne ouermuch lenitie and 
goodneffe, made her ill willers the more bold and pre- 
fumptuous. 

Lucretitts Cams the philofopher and poet inueighing 
fore againfl the abufes of the fuperftitious religion of 
the Gentils, and recompting the wicked fact of king 
Agamemnon in facrincing his only daughter Iphigenia, 
being a yoong damfell of excellent bewtie, to th'intent 
to pleafe the wrathfull gods, hinderers of his nauiga- 
tion, after he had faid all, clofed it vp in this one 
verfe, fpoken in Epiphonema. 

Tantum relligio potuit fuade7X malorum. 
In Englifh thus : 

Lo what an outrage, could caufe to be done, 
The peeuifli fcriple of blinde religion. 

It happens many times that to vme and 

or the ' enforce the matter we fpeake of, we go 

Auancer. f^jj mounting by degrees and encreafmg 

our fpeech with wordes or with fentences of more 

waight one then another, and is a figure of great both 

efficacie and ornament, as he that declaring the great 

calamitie of an infortunate prince, faid thus : 

He loft beftdes his children and his wife, 

His realme, ronovvne, liege, libertie and life. 

By which it appeareth that to any noble Prince the 

loffe of his eftate ought not to be fo greeuous, as of 

his honour, nor any of them both like to the lacke of 

his libertie, but that life is the deareft detriment of 

any other. We call this figure by the Greeke originall 

the Auaiicer or figure of encreafe becaufe euery word 

that is fpoken is one of more weight then another. 

And as we lamented the crueltie of an inexorable and 

vnfaithfull miftreffe. 

If by the lavves of loue it be a fait, 

The fait hfull friend, in ab fence to forget : 

But if it be (once do thy heart but halt,) 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 227 

A fecret finite : what forfet is fio great : 
As by defipite in view of euery eye, 
The folemne vovves oft fwome with tear es fo fait. 
And holy Leagues fafl feald with hand and hart: 
For to repeale and breake fo wilfully ? 
But now (alas) without all iuft defart, 
My lot is for my troth and much goodwill, 
To reape difdaine, hatred and rude refufe, 
Or if ye would worke me fo me greater ill : 
And of myne earned ioyes to feel e no part, 
What els is this (6 cruell) but to vfe, 
Thy murdring knife the guiltlejfe blond to f pill. 
Where ye fee how fhe is charged firft with a fault, 
then with a fecret fmne, afterward with a foule forfet, 
lafl of all with a moll cruell and bloudy deede. And 
thus againe in a certaine louers complaint made to the 
like effect 

They fay it is a ruth to fee thy loner neede, 
But you can fee me weepe, but you can fee me bleed e : 
And neuer fiirinke nor fliame, nefJied no teare at all, 
You make my woitnds your f elf e, and fill them z^> with gall: 
Yea you can fee me found, and faint for want of breath, 
Andgafpe andgronefor life, andfiruggle still with death, 
What can you now do more, fweare by your maydenhead, 
Then for to flea me qui eke, orfirip me being dead. 

In thefe verfes you fee how one crueltie furmounts 
another by degrees till it come to the very flaughter 
and beyond, for it is thought a defpite done to a dead 
carkas to be an.euidence of greater crueltie then to 
haue killed him. 

After the Auancer follow eth the abbafer 
working by wordes and fentences of ex- or'the' 
tenuation or diminution. Whereupon we fabler, 
call him the JDifabler or figure of Extenuation : and 
this extenuation is vfed to diuers purpofes, fometimes 
for modefties fake, and to auoide the opinion of arro- 
gancie, fpeaking of our felues or of ours, as he that 
difabled himfelfe to his miflreffe, thus. 

Not all the skill I haue to fpeake or do, 



22S OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Which litle is God wot (fet lone apart : ) 
Lineload nor life, and put them both thereto, 
Can count erpeife the due of your defart. 

It may be alfo done for defpite to bring our adu.er- 
faries in contempt, as he that fayd by one (commended 
for a very braue fouldier) difabling him fcornefully, 
thus. 

A iollie man (forfooth) and fit for the warre, 
Good at hand grippes, better to fight a farre: 
Whom bright weapon injhevv as it is f aid, 
Yea his ovvne Jhade, hath often made afraide. 

The fubtilitie of the fcoffe lieth in thefe Latin wordes 
\eminus et commits picgnare\ Alfo we vfe this kinde 
of Extenuation when we take in hand to comfort or 
cheare any perillous enterprife, making a great matter 
feeme fmall, and of litle difficultie, and is much vfed 
by captaines in the warre, when they (to giue courage 
to their fouldiers) will feeme to difable the perfons of 
their enemies, and abafe their forces, and make light 
of euery thing that might be a difcouragement to the 
attempt, as Hamiiball did in his Oration to his foul- 
diers, when they Ihould come to paffe the Alpes to 
enter Italie, and for fharpneffe of the weather, and 
fleepneffe of the mountaines their hearts began to faile 
them. 

We vfe it againe to excufe a fault, and to make an 
offence feeme leffe then it is, by giuing a terme mere 
fauorable and of leffe vehemencie then the troth re- 
quires, as to fay of a great robbery, that it was but a 
pilfry matter : of an arrant ruffian that he is a tall 
fellow of his hands : of a prodigall foole, that he is a 
kind hearted man : of a notorious vnthrift, a luflie 
youth, and fuch like phrafes of extenuation, which fall 
more aptly to the office of the figure Curry fauell 
before remembred. 

And W5 vfe the like termes by way of pleafant fami- 
liaritie, and as it were for a Courtly maner of fpeach 
with our egalls or inferiours, as to call a young Gentle- 
woman Mall for Mary, Nell for Elner : lack for John, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 229 

Robin for Robert : or any other like affected termes 
fpoken of pleafure, as in our triumphals calling fami- 
liarly vpon our Mufe, I called her Moppe. 
But will you weet, 
My litle mufe, my prettie moppe : 
Ifwejhall al gates change our stoppe, 
Chofe me a fweet. 
Vnderflanding by this word [Moppe] a litle prety 
Lady, or tender young thing. For fo we call litle 
fifties, that be not come to their full growth [moppes,] 
as whiting moppes, gurnard moppes. 

Alfo fuch termes are vfed to be giuen in derifion 
and for a kind of contempt, as when we fay Lording 
for Lord, and as the Spaniard that calleth an Earle of 
fmall reuenue Contadilio : the Italian calleth the poore 
man. by contempt pouerachio, or pouerino, the little 
bead animalculo or animaluchio, and fuch like diminu- 
tiues apperteining to this figure, the [D if abler] more 
ordinary in other languages than in our vulgar. 

This figure of retire holds part with the propounder 
of which we fpake before (prolep/is) becaufe Efanodis, 
of the refumption of a former propofition the fi °^ f 
vttered in generalise to explane the fame Retire. 
better by a particular diuifion. But their difference is, 
in that the propounder refumes but the matter only. 
This [retire] refumes both the matter and the termes, 
and is therefore accompted one of the figures of repe- 
tition, and in that refpecl may be called by his originall 
Greeke name the [Refounde] or the [retire] for this word 
[odo;] femes both fences refound and retire. The vfe 
of this figure, is feen in this dittie following, 

Low hope and death, doftirre in me much strife, 

As neuer man but I lead fuch a life : 

For burning lone doth wound my heai't to death : 

And when death comes at call of inward grief , 

Cold lingring hope doth feede my fainting breath : 

Againft my will, and yeelds my wound relief , 

So that I Hue, and yet my life is fuch : 

As neuer death could greeue me halfe fo much. 



2 3 o OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Then haue ye a maner of fpeach, not fo figuratiue 
Diaiisis, as fit for argumentation, and worketh not 

the Dismem- vnlike the dilejnma of the Logicians, be- 
brer. caufe he propones two or moe matters 

entierly, and doth as it were fet downe the whole tale 
or rekoning of an argument and then cleare euery 
part by it felfe, as thus. 

It can not be but fiigardfhip or neede, 
Made him attempt this foide and wicked deede : 
Nigardfliip not, for alvvayes he was free, 
Nor neede, for who doth not his richejfe fee •? 
Or as one that entreated for a faire young maide 
who was taken by the watch in London and carried 
to Bridewell to be punifhed. 

Now gentill Sirs let this young maide alone, 
For either Jhe hath grace of els JJie hath none : 
Iffae haue grace, flie may ill time repent, 
If flie haue none what bootes her punifliment. 
Or as another pleaded his deferts with his miftreffe. 
Were it for grace, or els in hope of 'game, 
To fay of my deferts, it is but vaine : 
For well in minde, in cafe ye do them beare, 
To tell them oft, itfliould but irke your eare : 
Be they forgot : as likely fnould If aile, \uaile. 
To winne with wordes,, where deedes can not pre- 
Then haue ye a figure very meete for Orators or 
, r . eloquent perfwaders fuch as our maker or 

or the ' Poet mull in foixie cafes mew him felfe to 
Distributer. -^ an( ^ j g w hen we may conueniently vtter 
a matter in one entier fpeach or propofition and will 
rather do it peecemeale and by diilribution of euery 
part for amplification fake, as for example he that 
might fay, a houfe was outragiouiTy plucked downe : 
will not be fatisfied fo to fay, but rather will fpeake it 
in this fort : they firfl vndermined the groundfills, they 
beate downe the walles, they vnfloored the loftes, they 
vntiled it and pulled downe the roofe. For fo in deede 
is a houfe pulled downe by circumftances, which this 
figure of diflribution doth fet forth euery one apart, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 231 

and therefore I name him the distributor according to 
his originall, as wrate the Tufcane Poet in a Sonet 
which Sir Thomas Wyat tranilated with very good 
grace, thus. 

Set me whereas the fiinne doth parch the greene, 
■ Or where his beames do not diffolue the. yet: 
In temperate heate where he is felt and fee? le, 
In prefence prejl of people mad or wife : 
Set me in hye or yet in low degree, 
In longeft night or in the fJwrteft day : 
In cleai'efl skie, or where clouds thickefl bee, 
In I ust i e youth or when my heares are gray : 
Set me in heauen, in earth or els in hell, 
In hill or dale or in the foining flood: 
Thrall or at large, a Hue where fo I dwell, 
Sicke or in health, in eu III fame or good ; 
Hers will I be, and onely with this thought, 
Content my felfe, although my chaunce be naught. 
All which might haue bene laid in thefe two verfes. 
Set me wherefoeuer ye will, 
I am and wilbe yours flill. 
The zealous Poet writing in prayfe of the maiden 
Queene would not feeme to wrap vp all her mofl 
excellent parts in a few words them entierly compre- 
hending, but did it by a diflributor or merifmus in the 
negatiue for the better grace, thus. 

Not your berctie, mofl gracious fouerame, 

Nor maidenly lookes, maintcind with maieflie : 

Your flately port, which doth not match but flai?ie, 

For your prefence, your pallace and your traine, 

All Princes Courts, mine eye could eiier fee : 

Not your quiche wits, your fober gouernaunce : 

Your clear e forfight, your faithful memorie, 

So fweete features, in fo flaid countenaunce : 

Nor languages, with plentuous vttera?ice, 

So able to difcourfe, and entertaine : 

Not noble race, farre beyond C&fars raigne, 

Rimne in right line, and bloud of nointed kings : 

Not large empire, armies, treafurs, domai?ie, 

luflie liueries, of fortifies dearst dai'lings : 



232 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Not all the skilles, fit for a Princely dame, 
Your learned Mufe, with vfe andfludie firings. 
Not true honour, ne that immortall fame 
Of may den raigne, your only owne renowne 
And no Queenes els, yet fuch as yeeldes your name 
Greater glory than doeth your treble crowne. 
And then concludes thus. 

Not any one of all thefe honor d parts 
Your Princely happes, and habites that do moue, 
And as it ivere, en for cell all the hearts 
Of Chrifilen kings to quarrell for your loue, 
But to poffeffe, at once and all the good 
Arte and eiigine, and euery flarre aboue 
Fo7'tune or kinde, could farce inflejli and bloud, 
Was force inough to make fo ma7iy fii7'iue 
For your per f on, which in our world floode 
By all confents the minionfl mayde to wiue. 
Where ye fee that all the parts of her commendation 

which were partitularly remembred in twenty verfes 

before, are wrapt vp in the two verfes of this laft part, 

videl. 

Not any one of all your honor d parts, 
Thofe Princely haps and habites, &c. 
This figure ferues for amplification, and alfo for 

ornament, and to enforce perfwafion mightely. Sir 

Geffrey Chaucer, father of our Englifh Poets, hath 

thefe verfes following the diftributor. 

When faith failes in Priefles fawes, 
And Lords hefles are holden for lawes, 
And robbei'ie is tane for pur chafe, 
A nd lechery for folace 
The?iJJiall the Realme of Albion 
Be brought to great confufion. 
Where he might haue faid as much in thefe words : 

when vice abounds, and vertue decayeth in Albion, 

then &c. And as another said, 

When Prince for his people is wake full and wife, 
Peeres ay ding with amies, Counfellors with aduife, 
Magiflrate fincei-ely vfing his charge, 
People prefl to obey, nor let to runne at large, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 233 

Prelate of holy life, and with deuotion 

Preferring pietie before promotion, 
Priest flill preaching, and praying for our heale : 
Then bleffed is the ft ate of a comman-weale. 
All which might haue bene faid in thefe few words, 
when euery man in charge and authoritie doeth his 
duety, and executeth his function well, then is the 
common-wealth happy. 

The Greeke Poets who made muficall ditties to be 
fons^ to the lute or harpe, did vie to linke 

P ■ i . Efimojie, 

their itaues together with one verfe running or the 
throughout the whole fong by equall dif- Loueburden - 
tance, and was, for the moft part, the firft verfe of the 
flaffe, which kept fo good fence and conformitie with 
the whole, as his often repetition did geue it greater 
grace. They called fuch linking verfe Epimo?ie, the 
Latin es v erf us inter calaris. and we may terme him the 
Loue-burden, following the origin all, or if it pleafe you, 
the long repeate : in one refpect becaufe that one 
verfe alone beareth the whole burden of the fong 
according to the originall : in another refpecl, for that 
it comes by large diftances to be often repeated, as in 
this ditty made by the noble knight Sir Philip Sidney, 
My true loue hath my heart and I haue his, 
By iuft exchange one for another geuen : 
I holds his dea?'e, and mine he can?iot miffe, 
There neuer was a better bargai?ie driuen. 

My true loue hath my heart and I haue his. 
My heart in me keepes him and me in one, 
My heart in him his thoughts and fences guides : 
He loues my heart, for once it was his owne, 
I cheriJJi his becaufe in me it bides. 

My true loue hath my heart, and I haue his. 
Many times our Poet is caried by fonie occafion to 
report of a thing that is maruelous, and 

, ■ 1 «nr r i • /- i raradoxon. 

then he will feeme not to fpeake it nmply or the 
but with fome figne of admiration, as in ^ ondre r. 
our enterlude called the IVoer. 

I woonder much to fee fo many husbands thriue, 



234 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. II I. 

That Jiaue but little wit, before they come to wiue : 
For one would eafdy weene who fo hath little wit, 
His wife to teach it him, were a thing much vnfit. 
Or as Cato the Romane Senatour laid one day 
merily to his companion that walked with him, point- 
ing his finger to a yong vnthrift in the ftreete who 
lately before fold his patrimonie, of a goodly quantitie 
of fait marines, lying neere vnto Capua Ihore. 
Now is it not, a wonder to behold, 
Yonder gallant skarce twenty winter old, 
By might (marke ye) able to doo morel 
Than the mayne fea that batters on hisfliore? 
For what the wanes could neuer wafJi away, 
This proper youth hath wafted in a day. 
Not much vnlike the vvondrer haue ye another 
figure called the doubtfully becaufe often- 
or7he times we will feeme to caft perils, and make 

Doubtfuii. doubt of things when by a plaine manner 
of fpeech wee might affirme or deny him, as thus of a 
cruell mother who murdred her owne child. 

Whether the cruell mother were ?nore to blame, 
Or theflirevvd childe come of fo curfl a dame : 
Or whether fome f match of the fathers blood, 
Whofe kinne vvei'e neuer kinde, nor neuer good. 
Mooued her thereto, &*c. 
This manner of fpeech is vfed when we will not 
Epitropis, feeme, either for manner fake or to auoid 
Fi urVof Re- tedioufheffe, to trouble the iudge or hearer 
ference. ' with all that we could fay, but hauing faid 
inough already, we referre the reft to their confedera- 
tion, as he that faid thus : 

Me thinkes that I haue faid, what may well fuffife, 

Referring all the reft, to your better aduife. 

The fine and fubtill perfwader when his intent is to 

fling his aduerfary, or els to declare his mind 

oTth<f ' in broad and liberal fpeeches, which might 

Licentious. breede offence or fcandall, he will feeme 

to befpeake pardon before hand, whereby his licen- 

tioufnes may be the better borne withall, as he that 

faid: 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 235 

If my fpeech hap £ offend you any way, 
Thinke it their fault, that force me fo to fay. 
Not much vnlike to the figure of reference, is there 
another with fome little diuerfitie which we . . . . 

. Auac/unosis, 

call zmpa?'tener, becauie many times m or the 
pleading and perfwading, we thinke it a Im P artener - 
very good pollicie to acquaint our iudge or hearer or 
very aduerfarie with fome part of our Counfell and ad- 
uice, and to aske their opinion, as who would fay they 
could not otherwife thinke of the matter then we do. 
As he that had tolde a long tale before certaine noble 
women, of a matter fomewhat in honour touching the 
Sex. 

Tell me fair e ladies, if the cafe were your owne, 
So foule a fault would you haue it be knowen ? 
Maifter Gorge in this figure, faid very fweetly. 
All you who read thefe lines and skanne of my defart, 
Iudge whether was more good, my hap or els my hart. 
The good Orator vfeth a manner of fpeach in his 
perfwafion and is when all that mould feeme to make 
againft him being fpoken by th' other fide, Paramohgia, 
he will firft admit it, and in th'end auoid ^^e^^ 
all for his better aduantage, and this figure mittance. 
is much vfed by our Englifh pleaders in the Star- 
chamber and Chancery, which they call to confeffe and 
auoid, if it be in cafe of crime or iniury, and is a very 
good way. For when the matter is fo plaine that it 
cannot be denied or trauerfed, it is good that it be 
iuftified by confeffall and auoidance. I call it the 
figure of admittance. As we once wrate to the reproofe 
of a Ladies faire but crueltie. 

I know your witte, I know your pleafant tongue, 
Your fome fweete f miles , your fome, but lonely lowrs: 
A beautie to enamour olde and yong. 
Thofe chaft deftres, that noble minde of yours, 
And that chief e part whence all your honor fp rings, 
A grace to entertaine the greatest kings. 
All this I know : butfmne it is to fee, 
So faire partes fpi It by too much crueltie. 



236 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

In many cafes we are driuen for better perfwafion to 

Etioiog-ia, tell the caufe that mooues vs to fay thus or 

or the thus: or els when we would fortifie our 

Reason rend ,, . , . r 

or the allegations by rendrmg realons to euery 

Tell cause. one ^ ^-g a ffig na ti on of caufe the Greekes 

called Etiologia, which if we might without fcorne of a 
new inuented terme call \Tell caitfe~\ it were right accord- 
ing to theGreekeoriginall: and I pray you why mould 
we not ? and with as good authoritie as the Greekes ? 
Sir Thomas Smith, her Maiefties principall Secretary, 
and a man of great learning and grauitie, fe eking to 
geue an Englifh word to this Greeke word aya^og 
called it Spitewed, or wedfpite. Mailer Secretary 
Wilfon geuing an Englifh name to his arte of Logicke, 
called it Witcraft, me thinke I may be bolde with like 
liberty to call the figure Eiiologia \Tell caufe.~\ And this 
manner of fpeech is alwayes contemned, with thefe 
words, for, becaufe, and fuch other connrmatiues. The 
Latines hauing no fitte name to geue it in one fmgle 
word, gaue it no name at all, but by circumlocution. 
We alfo call him the reafon-rendrer, and leaue the right 
Englifh word \_Tel caufe] much better anfwering the 
Greeke originall. Ariflotle was moll excellent in vfe 
of this figure, for he neuer propones any allegation, or 
makes any furmife, but he yeelds a reafon or caufe to 
fortifie and proue it, which geues it great credit. For 
example ye may take thefe verfes, firft pointing, than 
confirming by fimilitudes. 

When fortime JJiall haue spit out all he?' gall, 
I truft good htckfliall be to me allow de, 
For 1 haite feene afliippe in hauen fall, 
After theflorme had broke both mafle and Jlirowde. 
And this. 

Good is the thing that moues vs to defire, 
That is to ioy the beauty we behold : 
Els were we loiters as in an endleffe fire, 
Alwaies burning and euer chill a colde. 
And in thefe verfes. 

A ecu fed though I be without defart, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 237 

Sith none can proue b el eerie it not for true : 
For neuer yet fince firft ye had my hart, 
Entended I to falfe or be vntrue. 
And in this Difticque. 
And for her beauties praife, 110 wight that with her 
warres: [theflars. 

For where fJie comes JJie JJiewes her f elf e like fun among 
And in this other dittie of ours where the louer com- 
plaines of his Ladies crueltie, rendring for euery fur- 
mife a reafon, and by telling the caufe, feeketh (as it 
were) to get credit, thus. 

Cruel you be who can fay nay, 
Since ye delight in others wo : 
TJnwife am I, ye may well fay, 
For that I haue, ho?iourd you fo. 
But blameleffe 7, who could not chufe, 
l^o be enchaunted by your eye : 
But ye to blame, thus to refufe 
My feruice, and to let me die. 
Sometimes our error is fo manifeft, or we Didwiogia, 
be fo hardly preft with our aduerfaries, as we «. or th % 

' l j Figure of ex- 

cannot deny the fault layd vnto our charge : cuse. 
in which cafe it is good pollicie to excufe it by fome al- 
lowable pretext, as did one whom his miftreffe burdened 
with fomevnkinde fpeeches which he had paft of her, thus. 
I faid it: but by lapfe of lying tongue, 
When fur ie and iufl grief e my heart opprefl : 
I fay d it : as ye fee, both fraile and young, 
When your rigor had ranckled in my brest. 
The cruell wound that fmarted me fo fore, 
Pardon therefore (fweete forrow) or at leafl 
Beare with mine youth that neuer fell before, 
Leafl your offence encreafe my grief e the more. 
And againe in thefe, 

I fpake amyffe I cannot it deny 

But cat fed by your great d if court efie : 

And if I faid that which I now repent, 

And faid it not, but by mifgouernment 

Of youthfull yeres, your f elf e that are fo young 



238 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

Pardo7i for once this error of my tongue. 
And thinke amends can neuer come to late: 
Lone may be curft, but lone can neuer hate. 
Speaking before of the figure \Synecdoche] wee called 
Noema, him. [Quiche conceit] becaufe he inured in 

Figure 6 of a fmgle word onely by way of intendment 
dose conceit. r large meaning, but fuch as was fpeedily 
difcouered by euery quicke wit, as by the halfe to 
vnderftand the whole, and many other waies appearing 
by the examples. But by this figure \Noema] the ob- 
fcurity of the fence lieth not in a fmgle word, but in an 
entier fpeech, whereof we do not fo eafily conceiue the 
meaning, but as it were by conieclure, becaufe it is 
wittie and fubtile or darke, which makes me therefore 
call him in our vulgar the [Clofe conceit] as he that faid 
by himfelfe and his wife, I thank e God in fortie winters 
that we haue liued together, neuer any of our neigh- 
bours fet vs at one, meaning that they neuer fell out 
in all that fpace, which had bene the directer fpeech 
and more apert, and yet by intendment amounts all to 
one, being neuertheleffe diffemblable and in effect 
contrary. Pawlet Lord Treaforer of England, and 
firft Marques of Winch efter, with the like fubtill fpeech 
gaue a quippe to Sir William Gyjford, who had married 
the Marques filler, and all her life time could neuer 
loue her nor like of her company, but when fhe was 
dead made the greatefl moane for her in the world, 
and with teares and much lamentation vttered his 
griefe to the L. Treaforer, 6 good brother quoth the 
Marques, I am right fory to fee you now loue my 
fifter fo well, meaning that he mewed his loue too late, 
and mould haue done it while fhe was a liue. 

A great counfellour fomewhat forgetting his modeftie, 
vfed thefe words : Gods lady I reckon my felfe as 
good a man as he you talke of, and yet I am not able 
to do fo. Yea fir quoth the party, your L. is too good 
to be a man, I would ye were a Saint, meaning he 
would he were dead, for none are fhrined for Saints 
before they be dead. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 239 

The Logician vfeth a definition to ex- Orismus, 
preffe the truth or nature of euery thing Define? of 
by his true kinde and difference, as to fay difference. 
wifedome is a prudent and wittie forefight and con- 
fideration of humane or worldly actions with their 
euentes. This definition is Logicall. The Oratour 
vfeth another maner of definition, thus : Is this wife- 
dome ? no it is a certaine fubtill knauifh craftie wit, 
it is no induflrie as ye call it, but a certaine bufie 
brainhckneffe, for induflrie is a liuely and vnweried 
fearch and occupation in honeft things, egerneffe is an 
appetite in bafe and fmall matters. 

It ferueth many times to great purpofe to preuent 
our aduerfaries arguments, and take vpon vs to know 
before what our iudge or aduerfary or hearer thinketh, 
and that we will feeme to vtter.it before it be fpoken 
or alleaged by them, in refpect of which boldneffe to 
enter fo deepely into another mans conceit orconfcience, 
and to be fo priuie of another mans mynde, gaue caufe 
that this fiQTire was called the \ prefumptuousX D u 7je . 

*- -J JrYOCClttZiCpSlS 

I will alfo call him the figure oiprefuppofall or 

or the preuenter, for by reafon we fuppofe us Pr oSwse 
before what may be faid, or perchaunce the'%ure of 
would be faid by our aduerfary, or any rebU PP° sa 
other, we do preuent them of their aduantage, and do 
catch the ball (as they are wont to fay) before it come 
to the ground. 

It is alfo very many times vfed for a good pollicie 
in pleading or perfwafion to make wife as „ 
if we fet but light of the matter, and that or the 
therefore we do paffe it ouer nightly when Passages 
in deede we do then intend mofl effectually and de- 
fpightfully if it be inuecciue to remember it : it is alfo 
when we will not feeme to know a thing, and yet we 
know it well inough, and may be likened to the 
maner of women, who as the common faying is, will 
fay nay and take it. 

I hold my peace and will not fay for fJiame, 
The much vntruth of that vnciuill dame : 



240 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

For if IJhould her coullours kindly blaze, 
It would fo make the chaft eares amaze. 6rc. 
It is faid by maner of a prouerbiall fpeach that he 
Commoratio w ^° ^ n( ^ es himfelfe well fhould not wagge, 
or the euen fo the perfwader finding a fubftantiall 

figure of abode. p()int ^ ^ matter tQ feme J^g p Urpo f ej 

fhould dwell vpon that point longer then vpon any 
other leffe affured, and vfe all endeuour to maintaine 
that one, and as it were to make his chief aboad there- 
upon, for which caufe I name him the figure of aboad, 
according to the Latine name : Some take it not but 
for a courfe of argument and therefore hardly may one 
giue any examples thereof. 

Now as arte and good pollicy in perfwafion bids vs 

Metastasis, to abide and not to ftirre from the point of 

or the our mod aduantage, but the fame to en- 

mtting figure. r , ° 'in mi 

or the force and tarry vpon with all poffible ar- 
Remoue. gument, fo doth difcretion will vs fome- 
times to flit from one matter to another, as a thing 
meete to be forfaken, and another entred vpon, I call 
him therefore the flitting figure, or figure oiremoue, like 
as the other before was called the figure of aboade. 
Euen fo againe, as it is wifdome for a perfwader to 
tarrie and make his aboad as lone; as he 
or the may conueniently without tedioufnes to the 

Stragier. hearer, vpon his chiefe proofes or points of 

the caufe tending to his aduantage, and likewife to 'de- 
part againe when time femes, and goe to a new matter 
feruing the purpofe afwell. So is it requifite many 
times for him to talke farre from the principall matter, 
and as it were to range afide, to th'intent by fuch ex- 
traordinary meane to induce or inferre other matter, 
afwell or better feruing the principal purpofe, and 
neuertheles in feafon to returne home where he firft 
ftrayed out. This maner of fpeech is termed the figure 
of digreffion by the Latines, following the Greeke ori- 
ginall, we alfo call him the ftraggler by allufion to the 
fouldier that marches out of his array, or by thofe that 
keepe no order in their marche, as the battailes well 



OF ORNAMENT, LIB. III. 241 

ranged do : of this figure there need be geuen no ex- 
ample. 

Occafion offers many times that our maker as an 
oratour, or perfwader, or pleader mould go Expedite, 
roundly to worke, and by a quick and fwift ^ee^di^pat- 
argument difpatch his perfwafion, and as cher. 
they are woont to fay not to Hand all day trifling to no 
purpofe, but to rid it out of the way quickly. This is 
done by a manner of fpeech, both figuratiue and argu- 
mentative, when we do briefly fet downe all our beft 
reafons feruing the purpofe, and reiect all of them 
fauing one. which we accept to fatisfie the caufe : as 
he that in a litigious cafe for land would prooue it not 
the aduerfaries, but his clients. 

No man can fay its his by heritage. 
Nor by Zcgacie, or Teflatours deuice: 
Nor that it came by pur chafe or engage, 
Nor from his Prince for any good fet -nice. 
Then needs mufl it be his by very wrong, 
Which he hath offred this poore plaintife fo long. 
Though we might call this figure very well and pro- 
perly the \Paragori\ yet dare I not fo to doe for feare 
of the Courtiers enuy, who will haue no man vfe that 
terme but after a courtly manner, that is, in prayfmg 
of horfes, haukes, hounds, pearles, diamonds, rubies, 
emerodes, and other precious ftones : fpecially of faire 
women whofe excellencie is difcouered by paragonizing 
or fetting one to another, which moued the zealous 
Poet, fpeaking of the mayden Queene, to call her the 
paragon of Queenes. This coniidered, I will let our 
figure enioy his beft beknowen name, and call him 
ftil in all ordinarie. cafes the figure of comparifon : as 
when a man wil feeme to make things appeare good 
or bad, or better or worfe, or more or leffe excellent, 
either vpon fpite or for pleafure, or any other good 
affection, then he fets the leffe by the greater, or the 
greater to the leffe, the equall to his equall, and by 
fuch confronting of them together, driues out the true 
ods that is betwixt them, and makes it better appeare, 

Q 



242 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

as when we fang of our Soueraigne Lady thus, in the 
twentieth Partheniade. - 

As falcon fares to buff ards flight, 

As egles eyes to owlates fight, 

As fierce faker to coward kite, 

As bright eft no one to darkeft night : 

As fummer funne exceedeth farre, 

The mooiie and euery other ftarre : 

So far re my Pri?iceffe praife doeth paffe, 

The famoust Qiceene that euer was. 
And in the eighteene Partheniade thus. 

Set rich ruble to red efmayle, 

2 he rauens plume to peacocks tayle, 

Lay me the larkes to lizards eyes, 

The duskie cloude to azure skie, 

SetJJiallow brookes to furging feas, 

An orie7it pearle to a white peafe : 
&c. Concluding. 

There fJiall no leffe an ods be feene 

In .mine from euery other Quee?ie. 
We are fometimes occafioned in our tale to report 
Diaiogismus, fome fpeech from another mans mouth, as 
the ri ht rea- wnat a king faid to his priuy counfell or 
soner. fubiec~l, a captaine to his fouldier, a foul- 

diar to his captaine, a man to a woman, and contrari- 
wife : in which report we muft alwaies geue to euery 
perfon his fit and naturall, and. that which best becom- 
meth him. For that fpeech becommeth a king which 
doth not a carter, and a young man that doeth not an 
old : and fo in euery fort and degree. Virgil fpeaking 
in the perfon of Eneas, Turnus and many other great 
Princes, and fometimes of meaner men, ye ihall fee 
what decencie euery of their fpeeches holdeth with 
the qualitie, degree and yeares of the fpeaker. To 
which examples I will for this time referre you. 

So if byway of fiction we will feem to fpeake in another 
mans perfon, as if king Henry were aliue, and mould 
fay of the towne of Bulleyn, what we by warre to the 
hazard of our perfon hardly obteined, our young fonne 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 243 

without any peril at all, for litle mony deliuered vp 
againe. Or if we fhould faine king JLdwardXht thirde, 
vnderflanding how his fucceffour Queene Marie had 
loft the towne of Calays by negligence, fhould fay : 
That which the fword wanne, the diftaffe hath loft. 
This manner of fpeech is by the figure Dialogifmus, or 
the right reafoner. 

In waightie caufes and for great purpofes, wife per- 
fwaders vfe graue and weighty fpeaches, ~ 
fpecially in matter of aduife or counfel, or the' 
for which purpofe there is a maner of Director - 
fpeach to alleage textes or authorities of wittie fen- 
tence, fuch as fmatch morall doctrine and teach wife- 
dome and good behauiour, by the Greeke originall 
we call him the direclour, by the Latin he is called 
fententia : we may call him the fagefayer, thus. 
" Native bids vs as a louing mother. - c . .. 

° 7 fententia, 

" To 10 ue our fellies firfl and next to lone or the 

another. Sage sayer - 

" The Prince that couets all to know and fee, 
" Had need e full milde and patient to bee. 

" Nothing flickes f after by vs as appeares, 

u Then that which we learne in our tender yeares. 

And that which our foueraigne Lady wrate in defi- 
ance of fortune. 

Neuer thinke you fortune can beare the fvvay, 
Where vertues force, can caufe her to obay. 

Heede muft be taken that fuch rules or fentences 
be choifly made and not often vfed leaft exceffe breed 
lothfomneffe. 

_ Arte and good pollicie moues vs many Shtathrismtls . 
times to be earned in our fpeach, and then or the 
we lay on fuch load and fo go to it by Heapmg %ure ' 
heapes as if we would winne the game by multitude ot 
words and fpeaches, not all of one but of diuers matter 
and fence, for which caufe the Latines called it Con- 
geries and we the heaping figure, as he that faid 

To mufe in minde how faire, how wife, how good, 



244 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

How braue, how free ', how curteous a?id how true, 
My Lady is doth but inflame my blood. 
Or thus. 

I deeme, I dreame, I do, I taft, I touch, 
Nothing at all but fmells of perfit bliffe. 
And thus by maifter Edward Diar, vehement 
fwift and paffionatly. 

But if my faith my hope, my loue my true intent, 
My libei'tie, my feruice vowed, my time and all be fpe?it, 
In vaine, 6r°c. 

But if fuch earneft and haftie heaping vp of fpeaches 
be made by way of recapitulation, which commonly is 
in the end of euery long tale and Oration, becaufe the 
fpeaker feemes to make a collection of all the former 
materiall points, to binde them as it were in a bundle 
and lay them forth to enforce the caufe and renew the 
hearers memory, then ye may geue him more properly 
the name of the \colleclour\ or recapitulatour, and fer- 
ueth to very great purpofe as in an hympne written by 
vs to the Queenes Maieftie entitled (Minerua) wherein 
fpeaking of the mutabilitie of fortune in the cafe of all 
Princes generally, wee feemed to exempt her Maieftie 
of all fuch cafualtie, by reafon fhe was by her deftinie 
and many diuine partes in her, ordained to a moil 
long and conftant profperitie in this world, concluding 
with this recapitulation. 

But thou art free, but were thou not in deede, 
But were thou not, come of immortall fleede : 
Neuer y borne, and thy minde made to bliffe, 
Heauens mettall that euerlafling is : 
Were not thy wit, and that thy vertices fJiall, 
Be deemd diuine thy fauour face and all : 
And that thy loze, ne name may neuer dye, 
Nor thy flat e heme, flay d by deftinie : 
Dread were least once thy noble hart may feele, 
Some rufull tume, of her vnfleady wheele. 

Many times when we haue runne a long 

Apostrophe, . J ° 

or race in our tale lpoken to the hearers, we 

the tume tale. ^ Q f 0( ^ am iy fly e ou ^ an d either fpeake or 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 245 

exclaime at fome other perfon or thing, and therefore 
the Greekes call fuch figure (as we do) the turnway or 
turnetale, and breedeth by fuch exchaunge a certaine 
recreation to the hearers minds, as this vfed by a louer 
to his vnkind miflreffe. 

A?id as for you (faire one) fay now byproofeyefinde, 
That rigour and iiigratitude foone kill a gentle minde. 

And as we in our triumphals, fpeaking long to the 
Queenes Maieftie, vpon the fodaine we burft out in 
an exclamation to Phebus, feeming to draw in a new 
matter, thus. 

But O Phebus, 

All glifte7'ing in thy gorgious gowne, 

Would/1 thou witfafe to flide a downe : 

And dwell with vs, 

But for a day, 

I could tell thee clofe in thine eare, 
A tale that thou hadfl leuer heare 
I dare well fay : 

Then ere thou vvert, 

To kiffe that vnkind runneaway, 

Who was transformed to boughs of bay : 

For her curfl hert. &-r. 
And fo returned againe to the firft matter. 
The matter and occafion leadeth vs Hypotiposis, 
many times to defcribe and fet foorth . or _ c . 

J . n the counterfait 

many things, in fuch fort as it mould ap- representation. 
peare they were truly before our eyes though they 
were not prefent, which to do it requireth cunning : 
for nothing can be kindly counterfait or reprefented in 
his abfence, but by great difcretion in the doer. And 
if the things we couet to defcribe be not naturall or 
not veritable, than yet the fame axeth more cunning 
to do it, becaufe to faine a thing that neuer was nor is 
like to be, proceedeth of a greater wit and fharper in- 
uention than to defcribe things that be true. 

And thefe be things that a poet or p r0 sopo- 
maker is woont to defcribe fometimes as graphia. 



246 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

true or naturall, and fometimes to faine as artiiici- 
all and not true. viz. The vifage, fpeach and coun- 
tenance of any perfon abfent or dead : and this kinde 
of reprefentation is called the Counterfait countenance: 
as Homer doth in his Iliades, diuerfe perfonages : 
namely Achilles and Therfites, according to the truth 
\ and not by fiction. And as our poet Chaucer doth in 
his Canterbury tales fet foorth the Sumner, Pardoner, 
Manciple, and the reft of the pilgrims, moil naturally 
and pleafantly. 

Prosofopeia. But if ye wil faine any perfon with fuch 

Counterfeit in f eatures ? qualities and conditions, or if ye 
personation. wil attribute any humane quality, as reafon 
or fpeech to dombe creatures or other infenfible things, 
and do ftudy (as one may fay) to giue them a humane 
perfon, it is not Profopographia, but Profopopeia, be- 
caufe it is by way of fiction, and no prettier examples 
can be giuen to you thereof, than in the Romant of 

^ ) the rofe tranflated out of French by Chaucer, describ- 
ing the perfons of auarice, enuie, old age, and many 
others, whereby much moralitie is taught. 

So if we defcribe the time or feafon of the yeare, as 
Cronographia, winter, fummer, harueft, day, midnight, 
Counterfeit noone, euening, or fuch like : we call fuch 
time. defcription the counterfait time. Crono- 

graphia examples are euery where to be found. 
Topographia, And if this defcription be of any true 
Counterfeit place, citie, caflell, hill, valley or fea, and 
place. fuch like: we call it the counterfait place 

Topographia, or if ye fayne places vntrue, as heauen, 
hell, paradife, the houfe of fame, the pallace of the 
funne, the denne of fheep, and fuch like which ye mall 

^ I fee in Poetes : fo did Chaucer very well defcribe the 
country of Saluces in Itdlie, which ye may fee, in his 
Pragmato- re P 01 t of the Lady Gryfyll. 
graphic But if fuch defcription be made to repre- 

Coumerfeit fent the handling of any bufines with the 
action. circumflances belonging therevnto as the 

manner of a battell, a feaft, a marriage, a buriall or 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 247 

any other matter that lieth in feat and actiuitie : we call 
it then the counterfait aclion [Tragmatographia.] 

In this figure the Lord Nicholas Vaux a noble gentle- 
man, and much delighted in vulgar making, and a man 
otherwife of no great learning but hauing herein a mar- 
uelous facillitie, made a dittie reprefenting the battayle 
and affault of Cupide, fo excellently well, as for the gal- 
lant and propre application of his fiction in euery part, 
I cannot choofe but fet downe the greateft part of his 
ditty, for in truth it can not be amended. 
When Cupid fcaled the fort, 

Wherein i?iy hart lay wounded fore 

The battrie was of fuch a fort, 

That I mufl yeeld or die therefore. 

There J aw I lone zpon the wall, 

How he his banner did difplay, 

Alarme alar me he gan to call, 

And bad his fouldiers keepe aray. 

The amies the which that Cupid bare, 

Were pearced harts with teares befprent : 

Infduer and fable to declare 

The fled fast lone he alwaies meant'. 
There might you fee his band all drest 

In colours like to white and blacke, 

With ponder and with pellets prefl, 

To bring them forth to fpoile and facke, 

Good will the maifter oftheJJiot, 

Stood in the Rampire braue and proude, 

For expence of pouder he f pared not, 

Affault affault to crie aloude. 

There might you, heare the Canons rore, 

Eche peece dif charging a louers looke, &>c. 
As well to a good maker and Poet as ,, . . - 

{J miosis, 

to an excellent perfwader in profe, the or 

figure of Similitude is very neceffary, by Resemblance - 
which we not onely bewtifie our tale, but alfo very 
much inforce and inlarge it. I fay inforce becaufe no 
one thing more preuaileth with all ordinary iudge- 
ments than perfwafion \yyfimilitude. Now becaufe there 



248 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

are fundry forts of them, which alfo do worke after 
diuerfe fafhions in the hearers conceits, I will fet them 
all foorth by a triple diuifion, exempting the generall 
Similitude as their common Aunceftour, and I will cal 
him by the name of Refemblance without any addition, 
from which I deriue three other forts : and I giue euery 
one his particular name, as Refemblance by Pourtrait or 
Imagery, which the Greeks call Icon, Refemblance mor- 
all or miflicall, which they call Parabola, and Refemb- 
lance by example, which they call Paradigma, and firfl 
we will fpeake of the generall refemblance, or bare fimili- 
tude, which may be thus fpoken. 

But as the watriefJiowres delay the raging wind, \jnind. 
So doeth good hope cleane put away difpaire out of my 
And in this other likening the forlorne louer to a 
flriken deere. 

Then as the flriken deere, withdrawes himfelfe alone, 
So do I feeke fome fecret place, where I may make my mone. 
And in this of ours where we liken glory to a fhadow. 
As the fJiadow (his nature beyng fuch,) 
Followeth the body, whether it will or no, 
So doeth glory, refufe it nere fo much, 
Wait on vertue, be it in weale or wo. 
A7id enen as the fhadow i?i his kind, 
What time it beares the carkas company, 
Goth oft before, and often co??ies behind : 
So doth renowme, that raifeth vs fo hye, 
Come to vs quicke, fometime not till we dye. 
But the glory, that growth not ouer fafl, 
Is euer great, and likeliefl long to lafl. 
Againe in a ditty to a miflreffe of ours, where we 
likened the cure of Loue to Achilles launce. 

The launce fo bright, that made Telephus wound, 
The fame rufly, fahced the fore againe, 
So may my meede (Madame) of you redownd, 
Whofe rigour was first authour of my paine. 
The Tuskan poet vfeth this Refemblance, inuring as 
well by Dififimilitude as Similitude, likening himfelfe 
(by L?iplication) to the flie, and neither to the eagle nor 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 249 

to the owle : very well Englifhed by Sir Thomas J Via I 

after his fafhion, and by my felfe thus : 

There befomefowles of fight fo prowd and flarke, 
As can behold the funne, and neiter flirinke, 
Some fo feeble, as they are faiiie to winke, 
Or neuer come abroad till it be darke : 
Others there be fo fimple, as they thinke, 
Becaufe it fJiines, to fport them in the fire, 
And feel e vnware, the wrong of their defer e, 
Fluttring amidfl the flame that doth them burne, 
Of this last ranke (alas) am I aright, 
For in my ladies lookes to fland or tnrne 
I haue 710 power, ne find place to retire, 
Where any darke may JJiade me from her fight 
But to her beames fo bright whilst I afpire, 
I periJJi by the bane of my delight. 
Againe in thefe likening a wife man to the true louer. 
As true lone is content with his enioy, 
And asketh no witnejfe nor no record, 
And as faint lone is euermore mofi coy, 
To bo aft and brag his troth at euery word : 
Enen fo the wife without en other meede : 
Contents him with the guilt of his good deede. 
And in this refembling the learning of an euil man 

to the feedes fowen in barren ground. 

As the good feedes fowen infrutefullfoyle, 
Bring foorth foyj on when barren doeth them fpoile: 
So doeth it fare when much good learning hits, 
Vpon fJirewde willes and ill dispofed wits. 
And in thefe likening the wife man to an idiot. 
A fage mail faid, many of thofe that come 
To Athens fchoole for wifdome, ere they went 
They first feem'd zuife, then loners of wifdome, 
Then Orators, then idiots, which is meant 
That in wifdome all f itch as profit e mofi, 
Are least fwlie, and little apt to boast. 
Againe, for a louer, whofe credit vpon fome report 

had bene fhaken,he prayethbetter opinion by fimilitude. 
After ill crop the foyle mufii eft be fowen, 



250 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And fro fliipwracke we fayle to feas againe, 
Then God forbid whofe fault hath once bene knowen, 
Should for euer a f pot ted wight reniaine. 
And in this working by refemblance in a kinde of 
diffimilitude betweene a father and a mailer. 

It fares not by fathers as by masters it doethfare, 
For a foolifh father may get a wife forme. 
But of a foolifh mafter it haps very rare 
Is bread a wifeferuant where euer he wonne. 
And in thefe, likening the wife man to the Giant, the 
foole to the Dwarfe. 

Set the Giant deepe in a dale, the dwarfe vpo?i an hill, 
Yet will the one be but a dwarfe, tK other a giant flill. 
So tvill the wife be great and high, euen in the lowest place: 
The foole when he is mofl aloft, willfeeme but low and bafe. 
icon. But when we liken an humane perfon to 

Resemblance another in countenaunce, ftature, fpeach 
byimagerie. r other qualitie, it is not called bare re- 
femblance, but refemblaunce by imagerie or pourtrait, 
alluding to the painters terme, who yeldeth to th'eye 
a vifible reprefentation of the thing he defcribes and 
painteth in his table. So we commending her Maieflie 
for wifedome bewtie and magnanimitie likened her to 
the Serpent, the Lion and the Angell, becaufe by 
common vfurpation, nothing is wifer then the Serpent, 
more couragious then the Lion, more bewtifull then the 
Angell. Thefe are our verfes in the end of the feuenth 
Partheniade. 

Nature that feldome vvorkes amiffe, 
In vvomans brefl by paffing art : 
Hath lodged f of e the lyons hart, 
And feately fixt with all good grace, 
To Serpents head an Angels face. 
And this maner of refemblaunce is not onely per- 
formed by likening of liuely creatures one to another, 
but alfo of any other naturall thing, bearing a propor- 
tion of fimilitude, as to liken yealow to gold, white to 
filuer, red to the rofe, foft to filke, hard to the ftone 
and fuch like. Sir Philip Sidney in the defcription of 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 251 

his miftreffe excellently well handled this figure of re- 
femblaunce by imagerie, as ye may fee in his booke of 
Archadia : and ye may fee the like, o f our doin gs, in 
a Partheniade written of our foueraigne Lady, wherein 
we refemble euery part of her body to fome naturall 
thing of excellent perfection in his kind, as of her fore- 
head, browes and hair, thus. 

Of fihier was her forehead hye, 

Her browes two bowes of hcbenie, 

Her treffes trust were to behold 

Frizled and fine as fi'inge of gold. 
And of her lips. 

Two lips wrought out of ruble rocke, 

Like leaues to flint and to vnlock. 

As porta 11 dore in Princes chamber : 

A golden tongue i?i mouth of amber. 
And of her eyes. 

Her eyes God wot what fluff e they are, 

I durfl be fworne each is afilan'e : 

As cleere and bright as woont to guide 

The Pylot in his winter tide. 
And of her breafts. 

Her bofome fleake as Paris plaster, 

Helde vp two balles of alabafter, 

Eche by as was a little cherrie : 

Or els I thi?ike a strawberie. 
And all the reft that followeth, which may fufrice to 
exemplifie your figure of Icon, or refemblance by 
imagerie and portrait. 

But whenfoeuer by your fimilitude ye Parabola. 
will feeme to teach any moralitie or good Resemblance 
leffon by fpeeches miflicall and darke, or misticaii 
farre fette, vnder a fence metaphoricall applying one 
naturall thing to another, or one cafe to another, in- 
ferring by them a like confequence in other cafes the 
Greekes call it Parabola, which terme is alfo by 
cuflome accepted of vs : neuertheleffe we may call 
him in Englifh the refemblance miflicall : as when we 
liken a young childe to a greene twigge which ye may 



252 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

eafilie bende euery way ye lift : or an old man who 
laboureth with continuall infirmities, to a drie and 
drickfie oke. Such parables were air the preachings 
of Chrift in the Gofpell, as thofe of the wife and foolifh 
virgins, of the euil fteward, of the labourers in the vine- 
yard, and a number more. And they may be fayned 
afwell as true : as thofe fables of ALfope, and other apo- 
logies inuented for doctrine fake by wife and graue men. 
Finally, if in matter of counfell or perfwafion we 
Paradigma, will feeme to liken one cafe to another, 
a resemblance nicn as P affe ordinarily in mans affaires, 
by example. and doe compare the paft with the pre- 
fent, gathering probabilitie of like fucceffe to come in 
the things wee haue prefently in hand : 6v if ye will 
draw the iudgements precedent and authorized by 
antiquitie as veritable, and peraduenture fayned and 
imagined for fome purpofe, into fimilitude or diffimili- 
tude with our prefent actions and affaires, it is called 
refemblance by example : as if one mould fay thus, 
Alexander the great in his expedition to Afia did thus, 
fo did Hanniball comming into Spain e, fo did Ccefar 
in Egypt, therfore all great Captains and Generals 
ought to doe it. 

And confulting vpon the affaires of the low coun- 
treis at this day, peraduenture her Maieflie might be 
thus aduifed : The Flemings are a people very vn- 
thankfull and mutable, and rebellious againft their 
Princes, for they did rife againft Maximilian Archduke 
of Auftria, who had maried the daughter and heire of 
the houfe of Burgundie, and tooke him prifoner, till by 
the Emperour F7-ederike the third his father, he was 
fet at libertie. They rebelled againft Charles the fift 
Emperor, their naturall Prince. They haue falfed 
their faith to his fonne Philip king of Spaine their 
foueraign Lord : and fmce to Archduke Matthias, 
whom they elected for their gouernor, after to their 
adopted Lord Monfieur of Fraunce, Duke of Aniou : 
I pray you what likelihood is there they mould be 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 253 

more affured to the Queene of England, than they 
haue bene to all thefe princes and gouemors, longer 
than their diflreffe continueth, and is to be relieued by 
her goodnes and puiilance. 

[Passage substituted for the above, in some copies. 

And thus againe, It hath bene al waves vfuall among 
great and magnanimous princes in all ages, not only 
to repulfe any iniury and inuafion from their owne 
realmes and dominions, but alfo with a charitable and 
Princely compaffion to defend their good neighbors 
Princes and Potentats, from all opprefhon of tyrants 
and vfurpers. So did the Romanies by their armes 
reft ore many Kings of Afia and Affricke expulfed out 
of their kingdoms. So did K. Edward 1. reftablifh 
Baliol rightfull owner of the crowne of Scotland again ft 
Robert le brus no lawfull King. So did king Edward 
the third aide Dampeeter king of Spaine againft Henry 
baftard and vfurper. So haue many Englilh Princes 
holpen with their forces the poore Dukes of Britaine 
their ancient friends and allies, againft the outrages of 
the French kings : and why may not the Queene our 
foueraine Lady with like honor and godly zele yeld 
protection to the people of the Low countries, her 
neereft neighbours to refcue them a free people from 
the Spanifh feruitude.] 

And as this refemblance is of one mans action to 
another, fo may it be made by examples of bruite 
beaftes, aptly correfponding in qualitie or euent, as 
one that wrote certaine prety verfes of the Emperor 
Maximinus, to warne him that he fhould not glory 
too much in his owne ftrength, for fo he did in very 
deede, and would take any common fouldier to taske 
at wraftling, or weapon, or in any other acliuitie and 
feates of armes, which was by the wifer fort mifliked, 
thefe were the verfes. 

The Elephant isjlrong, yet death doeth it fubdue, 
The butt isjlrong, yet cannot death efchue. 



254 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

The Lionftrong, andflainefor all his jlrength : 
The Tygarfirong, yet kilde is at the length. 
Dread thou many, that dreadest not any one, 
Many can kill, that cannot kill alone. 
And fo it fell out, for Maximinus was flaine in a 

mutinie of his fouldiers, taking no warning by thefe 

examples written for his admonition. 

*CHAP. XX. 

The last and princip all figure of our poeticall Ornament. 

g | ,, |ggg^ Or the glorious luftre it fetteth vp- 
Exargasia, l| EftllJN on our fpeech and language, the 

TheGorgious. H ESSi Gre . eks ^ ^ ^ Exar S a fi a ) the 

g§j9|||g§ Latine (Expohtid) a terme trans- 
ferred from thefe polilhers of 
marble or porphirite, who after it is rough hewen and 
reduced to that fafhion, they will fet vpon it a goodly 
glaffe, fo fmoth and cleere, as ye may fee your face in 
it, or otherwife as it fareth by the bare and naked 
body, which being attired in rich and gorgious apparell, 
feemeth to the common vfage of th'eye much more 
comely and bewtifull then the naturall. So doth this 
figure (which therefore I call the Gorgious} polifh our 
fpeech and as it were attire it with copious and plea- 
fant amplifications and much varietie of fentences, all 
running vpon one point and one intent : fo as I doubt 
whether I may terme it a figure, or rather a maffe of 
many figuratiue fpeaches, applied to the bewtifying of 
our tale or argument. In a worke of ours intituled 
Philocalia we haue {trained to fhew the vfe and applica- 
tion of this figure andal others mentioned in this booke, 
to which we referre you. I finde none example [in Englifh 
meetre] that euer I could fee, fo well maintayning this 
figure in Englifh meetre as that ditty of her Maiefties 
owne making paffmg fweet e and harmonicall, which figure 
beyng as his very originall name purporteth the mofl 
bewtifull [and gorgious] of all others, it asketh in reafon 

* There is a slight variation, just here, in the text between copies: what is 
probably the later form — found in copies with the substituting passage of the 
previous page — is inserted between [ ] on this and the next pages. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 255 

to be referued for a lafl complement, and defciphred 
by the arte of a ladies penne, her felfe beyng the mod 
gorgious and bewtifuli, or rather bewtie of Queenes: 
and this was th'action [the occafion], our foueraigne 
Lady perceiuing how by the Sc. Q. refidence within this 
Realme at fo great libertie and eafe, as were skarce 
worthy of [meete for] fo great and dangerous a pryfoner, 
bred fecret factions among her people, and made many 
of her [the] nobilitie incline to fauour her partie: many 
[fome] of them defirous of innouation in the ftate : fome 
of them [others] afpiring to greater fortunes by her liber- 
tie and life. The Queene our foueraigne Lady to de- 
clare that Hie was nothing ignorant in [of] thole fecret 
fauours [practizes], though the had long with great wif- 
dome and pacience diffembled it, writeth this ditty moft 
fweet and fententious, not hiding from all fuch afpir- 
ing minds the daunger of their ambition and dilloyaltie, 
which afterward fell out moft truly by th'exemplary 
chaftifement of fundry perfons, who in fauour of the faid 
Sc. Q. . derogating [declining] from her Maieftie, fought 
to interrupt the quiet of the Realme by many euill and 
vndutifull practizes. The ditty is as followeth. 
The doubt of future foes, exiles my prefent toy, 
And wit me warms to JJiuu fuch fnares as threaten mine 

annoy. 
For falJJwod now doth flow, and fubiecl faith doth ebbe, 
Which would not be, if reafon ruPd or wifdome weild 

the luebbe. 
But clo-wdes of tois vntried, do cloake afpiring mindes, 
Which turne to raigne of late repent, by conrfe of changed 

windes. 
The toppe of hoppe fippofed, the roote of ruth vvil be, 
A?id fruteleffe all their graffed guiles, asjliortly yeJJiallfee. 
Then dazeld eyes with pride, which great ambitio?i blinds, 
Shalbe vnfeeld by worthy wights, whose foreflght falf- 

hood finds, 
The daughter of debate, that eke difcord doth fowe 
Shal reap no gaine zuhere for?nor rule hath taught fiil 

peace to growe. 




256 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

No forreine banniJJit vvigJit JJiall ancre in this port, 
Our realme it bi'ookes no fir angers force, let them elf where 

refort. 
Our rufty fworde with rest, fliall firfi his edge employ, 
Topolle their toppes that feeke, fuch change and gape for ioy. 
In a worke of ours entituled [Philo Calia] where we 
entreat of the loues betwene prince Philo and Lady 
Calia, in their mutual letters, meffages, and fpeeches : 
we haue ftrained our mufe to mew the vfe and appli- 
cation of this figure, and of all others. 

CHAP. XXL 

Of the vices or deformities in f peach and writing 
principally noted by auncient Poets. 

|T hath bene faid before how by ignorance 
of the maker a good figure may become 
a vice, and by his good difcretion, a vici- 
ous fpeach go for a vertue in the Poeti- 
call fcience. This faying is to be ex- 
plained and qualified, for fome manner of fpeaches are 
alwayes intollerable and fuch as cannot be vfed with 
any decencie, but are euer vndecent namely barbar- 
oufneffe, incongruitie, ill difpofition, fond affectation, 
rufticitie, and all extreme darkneffe, fuch as it is not 
poffible for a man to vnderfland the matter without 
an interpretour, all which partes are generally to be 
banifhed out of euery language, vnleffe it may appeare 
that the maker or Poet do it for the nonce, as it was 
reported by the Philofopher Heraclitus that he wrote 
in obfcure and darke termes of purpofe not to be vn- 
derftood, whence he merited the nickname Scotimis, 
otherwife I fee not but the reft of the common faultes 
may be borne with fometimes, or paffe without any 
great reproofe, not being vfed ouermuch or out of 
feafon as I faid before : fo as euery furplufage or pre- 
poflerous placing or vndue iteration or darke word, or 
doubtfull fpeach are not fo narrowly to be looked vpon 
in a large poeme, nor fpecially in the pretie Poefies 
and deuifes of Ladies, and Gentlewomen makers, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 257 

whom we would not haue too precife Poets leaft with 
their fhrewd wits, when they were maried they might 
become a little too phantafticall wiues, neuertheleffe 
becaufe we feem to promife an arte, which doth not 
iuftly admit any wilful errour in the teacher, and to 
th'end we may not be carped at by thefe methodical! 
men, that we haue omitted any neceffary point in this 
bufmeffe to be regarded, I will fpeake fome what touch- 
ing thefe viciofities of language particularly and briefly, 
leauing no little to the Grammarians for maintenaunce 
of the fcholaflicall warre, and altercations : we for our 
part condefcending in this deuife of ours, to the appe- 
tite of Princely perfonages and other fo tender and 
quefie complexions in Court, as are annoyed with no- 
thing more then long leffons and ouermuch good order. 

CHAP. XXII. 

Some vices in /peaches and writing are alwayes intoller- 
able, fome others now a?id then borne vvithall by li- 
cence of approued authors and custome. 

PHe foul eft vice in language is to fpeake 
barbaroufly : this terme s;rew D . . 

.. , J . , r i Barbarismus. 

by the great pride 01 the or 

Greekes and Latines, when Forrein s P eech - 
they were dominatours of the world reck- 
oning no language fo fweete and ciuill as their owne, and 
that all nations befide them felues were rude and vnci- 
uill, which they called barbarous: So as when anyflraunge 
word not of the naturall Greeke or Latin was fpoken, 
in the old time they called it barbarifme, or when any 
of their owne naturall wordes were founded and pro- 
nounced with ftraunge and ill fhapen accents, or writ- 
ten by wrong ortographie, as he that would fay with 
vs in England, a doufand for a thoufand, ifterday, for 
yefterday, as commonly the Dutch and French people 
do, they faid it was barbaroufly fpoken. The Italian 
at this day by like arrogance calleth the Frenchman, 
Spaniard, Dutch, Engliih, and all other breed behither 
their mountaines Appennines, Tramontani, as who would 

R 




258 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

fay Barbarous. This terme being then fo vfed by the 
auncient Greekes, there haue bene fmce, notwithfland- 
ing who haue digged for the Etimologie fomewhat 
deeper, and many of them haue faid that it was fpoken 
by the rude and barking language of the ArTricans now 
called Barbarians, who had great tramcke with the 
Greekes and Romanes, but that can not be fo, for that 
part of Affricke hath but of late receiued the name of 
Barbarie, and fome others rather thinke that of this 
word Barbarous, that countrey came to be called Bar- 
baria and but few yeares in refpecl agone. Others 
among whom is Ihan Leon a Moore of Granada, will 
feeme to deriue Barb aria, from this word Bar, twife 
iterated thus Barbar, as much to fay as flye, five, which 
chaunced in a perfecution of the Arabians by fome 
feditious Mahometanes in the time of their Pontif. 
Habdul mumiy when they were had in the chafe, and 
driuen out of Arabia Weftward into the countreys of 
Mauritania, and during the purfuite cried one vpon 
another flye away, flye away, or paffe parte, by which 
occafion they fay, when the Arabians which were had 
in chafe came to flay and fettle them felues in that 
part of Affrica, they called it Barbar, as much to fay, 
the region of their flight or purfuite. Thus much for 
the terme, though not greatly pertinent to the matter, 
yet not vnpleafant to knowe for them that delight in 
fuch niceties. 

Your next intolerable vice is folecifmus or incon- 
gruitie, as when we fpeake falfe Englifh, 
or that is by mifufmg the Grammaticall rules 

incongruity. t0 ^ e t)f eruec i in cafes, genders, tenfes 
and fuch like, euery poore fcholler knowes the fault, 
and cals it the breaking of Prifcians head, for he was 
among the Latines a principall Grammarian. 

Ye haue another intollerable ill maner of fpeach, 

Cacozeiia. which by the Greekes originall we may 

^ , or _ call fonde affectation, and is when we arTecl 

Fonde affecta- J M ' 

tion. new words and phrafes other then the 

good fpeakers and writers in any language, or then 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 259 

cuflome hath allowed, and is the common fault of 
young fchollers not halfe fo well fludied before they 
come from the Vniuerfitie or fchooles, and when they 
come to their friends, or happen to get fome benefice 
or other promotion in their countreys, will feeme to 
coigne fine wordes out of the Latin, and to vfe new 
fangled fpeaches, thereby to fhew themfelues among 
the ignorant the better learned. 

Another of your intolerable vices is that which the 
Greekes call Soraifmns, and we may call soraismus. 
the [mingle mangle\ as when we make our The ^[ le 
fpeach or writinges of fundry languages mangle. 
vfmg fome Italian word, or French, or Spanifh, or 
Dutch, or Scottifh, not for the nonce or for any pur- 
pofe (which were in part excufable) but ignorantly and 
affectedly as one that faid vfmg this French word Roy, 
to make ryme with another verfe, thus. 
O mightie Lord of lone, da?ne Venus onely toy, 

Whofe Princely power exceedes ech other heauenly roy. 

The verfe is good but the terme peeuifhly affected. 

Another of reafonable good facilitie in tranflation 
finding certaine of the hymnes of Pyndarus and of 
Anacreons odes, and other Lirickes among the Greekes 
very well tranflated by Rounfard the French Poet, and 
applied to the honour of a great Prince in France, 
comes our minion and tranflates the fame out of 
French into Englifh, and applieth them to the honour 
of a great noble man in England (wherein I commend 
his reuerent minde and duetie) but doth fo impudently 
robbe the French Poet both of his prayfe and alfo of 
his French termes, that I cannot fo much pitie him 
as be angry with him for his iniurious dealing (our 
fayd maker not being afhamed to vfe thefe French 
wordes freddon, egar, fiLperbons, filanding, celejl, cala- 
brois, thebanois and a number of others, for Englifh 
wordes, which haue no maner of conformitie with our 
language either by cuflome or deriuation which may 
make them tollerable. And in the end (which is worft 
of all) makes his vaunt that neuer Englifh finger but 



260 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

his hath toucht Pindars firing which was neuertheleffe 
word by word as Rounfard had said before by like 
braggery. Thefe be his verfes. 

And of a?i ingenious inuejition, inf anted with pleafant 

trauaille. 

Whereas the French word is enfante, as much to fay 

borne as a child, in another verfe he saith. 

/ willfreddon in thine honour 

For I will make or quiuer my fingers, for fo in 

French is freddon, and in another verfe. 

But if I will thus like pindar. 

In many difcowfes egar. 

This word egar is as much to fay as to wander or 

flray out of the way, which in our Englifh is not re- 

ceiued, nor thefe wordes calabrois, thebanois, but rather 

ealabrian, theban \filandhfg fflers] for the fpinning 

fillers : this man deferues to be endited of pety lard 

for pilfering other mens deuifes from them and con- 

uerting them to his owne vfe, for in deede as I would 

wifh euery inuentour which is the very Poet to receaue 

the prayfes of his inuention, fo would I not haue a tran- 

flatour to be afhamed to be acknowen of his tranflation. 

Another of your intollerable vices is ill difpofition 

. J7 , or placing of your words in a claufe or 

or the fentence : as when you will place your 

Mispiacer. a( ji e( fti ue after your fubflantiue, thus : 

Mayde faire, widow 7'iche, priefl holy, and fuch like. 

which though the La tines did admit, yet our Engliih 

did not, as one that faid ridiculoufly. 

In my yeares luflie, many a deed doughtie did I 
All thefe remembred faults be intollerable and euer 
vndecent. 

Now haue ye other vicious manners of fpeech, but 

Cacemphaton. fometimes and in fome cafes tollerable. 

fi re r of fouie anc ^- chi^} 7 to tne m tent to niooue laughter. 

speech. and to make fport, or to giue it fome prety 

ftrange grace, and is when we vfe fuch wordes as may 

be drawen to a foule and vnfhamefaft fence, as one that 

would fay to a young woman, I pray you let me iape with 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 261 

you, which in deed is no more but let me fport with 
you. Yea and though it were not altogether fo directly 
fpoken, the very founding of the word were not com- 
mendable, as he that in the prefence of Ladies would 
vfe this common Prouerbe, 

Jape with me but hurt me not, 

Bourde with me but Jliame me 
For it may be taken in another peruerfer fence by 
that forte of perfons that heare it, in whofe eares no 
fuch matter ought almofl to be called in memory, this 
vice is called by the Greekes Cacemphaton, we call it 
the vnfhamefail or figure of foule fpeech, which our 
courtly maker mail in any cafe ihunne, leail of a Poet 
he become a Buffon or rayling companion, the Latines 
called him Scurra. There is alfo another fort of il- 
fauoured fpeech fubiecl to this vice, but refting more 
in the manner of the ilihapen found and accent, than 
for the matter it felfe, which may eafily be auoyded in 
choofmg your wordes thofe that bee of the pleafanteft 
orthography, and not to rime too many like founding 
words together. 

haue another manner of compofmg your metre 
nothing commendable, fpecially if it be too Tauudogia, 
much vfed, and is when our maker takes fi ^eo h f e S eife 
too much delight to fill his verfe with saying. 
wordes beginning all with a letter, as an Englifh rimer 
that faid : 

The deadly droppcs of darke difdaine, 

Do daily drench my due defartes. 
And as the Monke we fpake of before, wrote a whole 
Poeme to the honor of Carol us Caluus, euery word 
in his verfe beginning with C, thus : 

Carmina clarifonce Caluis cantate camencz. 
Many of our Englifh makers vfe it too much, yet 
we confeiie it doth not ill but pretily becomes the 
meetre, if ye paffe not two or three words in one verfe, 
and vfe it not very much, as he that faid by way of 
Epithete. 

The fmoakie fighes : the trickling teares. 



262 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And fuch like, for fuch compofition makes the 
meetre runne away fmoother, and paffeth from the 
lippes with more facilitie by iteration of a letter then 
by alteration, which alteration of a letter requires an 
exchange of miniftery and office in the lippes, teeth or 
palate, and fo doth not the iteration. 
Histeron, pro- Your mifplacing and prepofterous plac- 
teron or the ing is not all one in behauiour of language, 
Preposterous, for the mifplacing is alwaies intollerable, 
but the prepofterous is a pardonable fault, and many 
times giues a pretie grace vnto the fpeech. We call 
it by a common faying to fet the carte before the horfe, 
and it may be done, eyther by a fmgle word or by a 
claufe of fpeech : by a fmgle word thus : 

And if I not p erf or me, God let me neuer thriue. 

For perform e not : and this vice is fometime toller- 
able inough, but if the word carry away notable fence, 
it is a vice not tollerable, as he that faid praifmg a 
woman for her red lippes, thus : 
A corral lippe of hew. 

Which is no good fpeech, becaufe either he mould 
haue fayd no more but a corrall lip, which had bene 
inough to declare the redneffe, or els he mould haue 
faid, a lip of corrall hew, and not a corrall lip of hew. 
Now if this diforder be in a whole claufe which carieth 
more fentence then a word, it is then worft of all. 
Ac ron Ye haue another vicious fpeech which 

or the' the Greekes call Acyron, we call him the 

Vncouthe. vncou th e , and is when we vfe an obfcure 
and darke word, and vtterly repugnant to that we 
would expreffe, if it be not by vertue of the figures 
metaphore, allegorie, abufion, or fuch other laudable figure 
before remembred, as he that faid by way of Epithete. 
A dongeon deepe, a dampe as darke as hell. 

Where it is euident that a dampe being but a breath 
or vapour, and not to be difcerned by the eye, ought 
not to haue this epithete {darke,) no more then another 
that prayfmg his miftreffe for her bewtifull haire, faid 
very improperly and w T ith a vncouth terme. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 263 

Her haire fur mounts Apollos pride, 

In it fuch bewty raignes. 
Whereas this word raigne is ill applied to the bewtie 
of a womans haire, and might better haue bene fpoken 
of her whole perfon, in which bewtie, fauour and good 
grace, may perhaps in fome fort be faid to raigne as 
our fellies wrate, in a PartJieniade praifmg her Maiefties 
countenance, thus : 

A cheare where loue and Maieflie do raigne, 

Both milde and flerne, &>c. 
Becaufe this word Maieflie is a word expreffmg a 
certaine Soueraigne dignitie, as well as a quallitie of 
countenance, and /therefore may properly be faid to 
raigne, and requires no meaner a word to fet him 
foorth by. So it is not of the bewtie that remain es in 
a womans haire, or in her hand or in any other mem- 
ber : therfore when ye fee all thefe improper or harde 
Epithets vfed, ye may put them in the number of 
[vncouths] as one that faid, the flouds of graces : I haue 
heard of the flouds of tear es, and the flouds of eloquence, 
or of any thing that may refemble the nature of a 
water-courfe, and in that refpecl we fay alfo, the 
ftreames of tear es, and the flreames of vtlerance, but not 
the flreames of graces, or of beautie. Such manner of 
vncouth fpeech did the Tanner of Tamworth vfe to 
king Edward the fourth, which Tanner hauing a great 
while miftaken him, and vfed very broad talke with 
him, at length perceiuing by his traine that it was 
the king, was afraide he mould be punifhed for it, faid 
thus with a certaine rude repentance. 

/ hope IfJiall be hanged to morrow. 
For [I fear e me'] I fJiall be hanged, whereat the king 
laughed a good, not only to fee the Tanners vaine 
feare, but alfo to heare his ill fhapen terme, and gaue 
him for recompence of his good fport, the inheritance 
of Plumton parke, I am afraid the Poets of our time 
that fpeake more finely and correcledly will come too 
fhort of fuch a reward. 

Alfo the Poet or makers fpeech becomes vicious 



264 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

The vice of and vnpleafant by nothing more than by 
Surplusage. vfing too much furplufage and this lieth 
not only in a word or two more than ordinary, but in 
whole claufes, and peraduenture large fentences im- 
pertinently fpoken, or with more labour and curiofitie 
than is requiiite. The firfl furplufage the Greekes call 
Pleonafmus, I call him [too full fpeecJi\ and is no great 
fault, as if one mould fay, / heard it with mine eares, 
and f aw it with mine eyes, as if a man could heare 
with his heeles, or fee with his nofe. We our felues 
vfed this fuperfluous fpeech in a verfe written of our 
miftreffe, neuertheles, not much to be mifliked, for 
euen a vice fometime being feafonably vfed, hath a 
pretie grace. 

For ener may my true loue Hue and 

Pleonasmus, TUUCT die 

Too fui speech And that mine eyes may fee her crownde 

a Qiieene. 
As, if me liued euer. me could euer die, or that one 
might fee her crowned without his eyes. 

Another part of furplufage is called Macrologia, or 

Macrohgia, ^ n g language, when we vfe large claufes 

v i or „ or fentences more than is requifite to the 

on g anguage matter . - t jg a ^ namec [ ]yy the Greeks 

Periffologia, as he that faid, the Ambaffadours after 
they had receiued this anfwere at the kings hands, 
they tooke their leaue and returned home into their 
countrey from whence they came. 

So faid another of our rimers, meaning to fhew the 
great annoy and dimcultie of thofe warres of Troy, 
caufed for Helenas fake. 

Nor Menelaus was vnwife, 
Or troupe of Troians mad, 
When he with them and they with him, 
For her fuch combat had. 
Thefe claufes (he with them and they with him) are 
furplufage, and one of them very impertinent, becaufe 
it could not otherwife be intended, but that Menelaus, 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 265 

fighting with the Troians, the Troians mufl of necefiitie 
fight with him. 

Another point of furplufage lieth not fo much in 
fuperfluitie of your words, as of your trauaile to defcribe 
the matter which yee take in hand, and that ye ouer- 
labour your felfe in your bufmeffe. And therefore the 

:es call it Periergia, we call it ouer- p er iergia, 
labor, iumpe with the originall : or rather ^ or 

p., - -1 r 1 • t • r • Ouer labour, o- 

\tne curio it s\ for his ouermuch cunoutie therwise called 
and ftudie to fhew himfelfe fine in a light the curious - 
matter, as one of our late makers who in the moil ot 
his things wrote very well, in this (to mine opinion) 
more curioufly than needed, the matter being ripely 
confidered : yet is his verfe very good, and his meetre 
cleanly. His intent was to declare how vpon the tenth 
day of March he croffed the riuer of Thames, to walke 
in Saint Georges field, the matter was not great as ye 
may fuppofe. 

The tenth of March when Aries receiued 
Dan Phoebus raies i?ito his horned head, • 
And I my felfe by learned lore per coined 
That Ver approcht and frofly winter fled 
I crofl the Thames to take the cheerefull aire, 
In open fields, the weather was fo f aire. 
Firft, the whole matter is not worth all this folemne 
circumftance to defcribe the tenth day of March, but 
if he had left at the two firft verfes, it had bene inough. 
But when he comes with two other verfes to enlarge 
his defcription, it is not only more than needes, but 
alfo very ridiculous, for he makes wife, as if he had 
not bene a man learned in fome of the mathematickes 
(by learned lore) that he could not haue told that the 
x. of March had fallen in the fpring of the yeare : 
which euery carter, and alfo euery child knoweth with- 
out any learning Then alfo, when he faith \_Ver 
approcht, and frofly winter fled\ though it were a fur- 
plufage (becaufe one feafon mull needes geue place to 
the other) yet doeth it well inough paffe without blame 



.266 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

in the maker. Thefe, and a hundred more of fuch 
faultie and impertinent fpeeches may yee finde a- 
mongfl vs vulgar Poets, when we be careleffe of our 
doings. 

It is no fmall fault in a maker to vfe fuch wordes 
« -. . and termes as do diminifh and abbafe the 

1 apinosis, 

or the matter he would feeme to fet forth, by 

Abbaser. impairing the dignitie, height vigour or 
maieitie of the caufe he takes in hand, as one that . 
would fay king Philip fhrewdly harmed the towne of 
S. Quintaines, when in deede he wanne it and put it to 
the facke, and that king Henry the eight made fpoiles 
in Turwin, when as in deede he did more then fpoile 
it, for he caufed it to be defaced and razed flat to the 
earth, and made it inhabitable. Therefore the hif- 
toriographer that fhould by fuch wordes report of thefe 
two kings geftes in that behalfe, fhould greatly blemifh 
the honour of their doings and almoft fpeake vntruly 
and iniurioufly by way of abbafement, as another of 
our bid rymers that very indecently faid. 

A mifers mynde thou hast, thou haji a Princes pelf e. 

A lewd terme to be giuen to a Princes treafure (pelfe) 
and was a little more manerly fpoken by Seriant 
Bendlowes, when in a progreffe time comming to falute 
•the Queene in Huntingtonfhire he faid to her Coch- 
man, flay thy cart good fellow, flay thy cart, that I may 
fpeake to the Queene, whereat her Maieflie laughed 
as fhe had bene tickled, and all the reft of the company 
although very gracioufly (as her manner is) fhe gaue 
him great thank es and her hand to kiffe. Thefe and 
fuch other bafe wordes do greatly difgrace the thing 
and the fpeaker or writer: the Greekes call it [Tapinq/is] 
we the \_abbafer.~\ 

Bomphioivgia, Others there be that fall into the contrary 

PompSus v i ce by vfmg fuch bombafted wordes, as 

speech. feeme altogether farced full of winde, being 

a great deale to high and loftie for the matter, whereof 

ye may finde too many in all popular rymers. 

Then haue ye one other vicious fpeach with which 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 267 

we will finifh this Chapter, and is when we Amphiboio ia 
fpeake or write doubtfully and that the or the 
fence may be taken two wayes, fuch Ambl ^ ous - 
ambiguous termes they call Amphibologia, we call it 
the ambiguous, or figure of fence incertaine, as if one 
mould fay Thomas Tayler faw William Tyler dronke, 
it is indifferent to thinke either th'one or th'other 
dronke. Thus faid a gentleman in our vulgar pretily 
notwithstanding becaufe he did it not ignorantly, but 
for the nonce. 

I fat by my lady foundly fleeping, 
My miflreffe lay by me bitterly weeping. 

No man can tell by this, whether the miflreffe or 
the man, ilept or wept : thefe doubtfull fpeaches were 
vfed much in the old times by their falfe Prophets as 
appeareth by the Oracles of Delphos and of the 
Sybilles prophecies deuifed by the religious perfons of 
thofe dayes to abufe the fuperflitious people, and to 
encomber their bufie braynes with vaine hope or vaine 
feare. 

Lucianus the merry Greeke reciteth a great number 
of them, deuifed by a coofening companion one 
Alexander, to get himfelfe the name and reputation of 
the God JEfculapius, and in effect all our old Brittifh 
and Saxon proprieties be of the fame fort, that turne 
them on which tide ye will, the matter of them may be 
verified, neuertheleffe carryeth generally fuch force in 
the heades of fonde people, that by die comfort of thofe 
blind prophecies many infurreclions and rebellions 
haue bene flirred vp in this Realme, as that of Iacke 
Straw, and Iacke Cade in Richard the feconds time, 
and in our time by a feditious fellow in Norffolke call- 
ing himfelfe Captaine Ket and others in other places 
of the Realme lead altogether by certaine propheticall 
rymes, which might be conftred twx> or three w T ayes as 
well as to that one whereunto the rebelles applied it, 
our maker mail therefore auoyde all fuch ambiguous 
fpeaches vnleffe it be when he doth it for the nonce 
and for fome purpofe. 




268 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

CHAP. XXIII. 

What it is that generally makes our f peach well pleafing 
and commendable, and of that which the latines 
S call Decorum. 

JN all things to vfe decencie, is it onely that 
giueth euery thing his good grace and 
without which nothing in mans fpeaclj, 
could feeme good or gracious, --^fT fo 
much as many times it makes a bewtifull 
figure fall into a deform itie, and on th'other fide a 
vicious fpeach feeme pleafaunt and bewtifull : this S 
decencie is therfore the line and leuell for al good 
makers to do their bufmes by. -- But herein refleth the 
difficultie, to know what this good grace is, and wherein 
it confifleth, for peraduenture it be eafier to conceaue 
then , to expreffe, we wil therfore examine it to the 
bottome and fay : that euery thing which pleafeth the^ 
mind or fences, and the mind by the fences as by 
Sneans inftrumentall, doth it for fome amiable point or 
qualitie that is in it, which draweth them to a good - 
liking and contentment with their proper obiecls./ But 

I that cannot be if they difcouer any illfauoredneffe or 
difproportion to the partes apprehenfme, as for example, 
when a found is either toojtaude or too low^or other- 
wife confufe, the eare is ill affecled : fo is th'eye if the 
coulour be fad or not liminous aiid recreatiue, or the 
fhape of a membred body without his due meafures 
and fimmetry, and the like of euery other fence in his 
proper funclion. Thefe exceffes or defecles or coml 
fufions and diforders in the fenfible obiecles are defor- / 
mities and vnfeemely to the fence. In like fort the ( 
mynde for the things that be his mentall obiecles hath 
his good graces and his bad, whereof th'one contents 
him wonderous well, th'other difpleafeth him continu- 
ally, no more nor no leffe then ye fee the difcordes of 
muficke do to a well tuned eare. The Greekes call 
1 this good grace of euery thing in his kinde, to Trgs^ov, 
1 the Latines [decorum] we in our vulgar call it by a 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 269 

fcholaflicall terme \decencie\ our owne Saxon Englifh 
terme is \_feemelyneffe\ that is to fay, for his good fhape 
and vtter appearance well pleafing the eye, we call it 
alfo \comelyneffe\ for the delight it bring eth comming 
towardes vs, and to that purpofemaybe called \pleafant 
approche\ fo as euery way feeking to expreffe this irgsqrov 
of the Greekes and decorum of the Latines, we are faine 
in our vulgar toung to borrow the terme which our eye 
onely for his noble prerogatiue ouer all the reft of the 
fences doth vfurpe, and to apply the fame to all good, 
comely, pleafant and honeft things, euen to the fpiri- 
tuall obiecles of the mynde, which fland no leffe in the 
due proportion of reafon and difcourfe than any other 
materiall thing doth in his fenfible bewtie, proportion 
and comelyneffe. 

Now becaufe his comelyneffe refleth in the goocT^ 
conformitie of many things and their fundry circum- / 
ftances, with refpecl one to another, fo as there be / 
found a iuft correfpondencie betweene them by this or I 
that relation, the Greekes call it Analogie or a con- I 
uenient proportion. This louely conformitie, or pro- 
portion, or conuemencie betweene the fence and the 
fenfible hath nature her felfe firfl moil carefully ob- 
ferued in all her owne workes, then alfo by kinde graft 
it in the appetites of euery creature working by intelli- 
gence to couet and defire : and in their actions to imi- 
tate and performe : and of man chiefly before any 
other creature afwell in his fpeaches as in euery other 
part of his behauiour. And this in generalise and bv 
an vfuall terme is that which the Latines call \decorum. 
So albeit we before alleaged that all our figures be bu 
tranfgreffions of our dayly fpeech, yet if they fall ou ; 
decently to the good liking of the mynde or eare and t( > 
the bewtifymg of the matter or language, all is well, if 
indecently, and to the eares and myndes mifliking (be 
the figure of it felfe neuer fo commendable) all N is 
amiffe, the election is the writers, the iudgement is the 
worlds, as theirs to whom the reading apperteineth. 
But fince the actions of man with their circumftances 



270 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

be infinite,, and the world likewife replenished with 
many iudgements, it may be a queflion who fhal haue 
the determination of fuch controuerfie as may arife 
whether this or that action or fpeach be decent or in- 
decent : and verely it feemes to go all by difcretion, not 
perchaunce of euery one, but by a learned and ex- 
perienced difcretion, for otherwise feemes the decorum 
to a weake and ignorant iudgement, then it doth to 
one of better knowledge and experience : which fhew- 
eth that it refleth in the difcerning part of the minde, 
fo as he who can make the beft and moil differences 
of things by reafonable and wittie diftinction is to be 
the fitteft iudge or fentencer of \decencie^\ Such gene- 
rally is the difcreeteft man, particularly in any art the 
mofl skilfull and difcreeteft, and in all other things for 
the more part thofe that be of much obferuation and 
greatefl experience. The cafe then flanding that dif- 
cretion mufl chiefly guide all thofe bufmeffe, fmce there 
be fundry fortes of difcretion all vnlike, euen as there 
be men of action or art, I fee no way fo fit to enable a 
man truly to eftimate of \decencie\ as example, by whofe 
veritie we may deeme the differences of things and 
their proportions, and by particular difcuffions come 
at length to fentence of it generally, and alfo in our 
behauiours the more eafily to put it in execution. But 
by reafon of the fundry circumftances, that mans af- 
faires are as it were wrapt in, this \decencie\ comes to be 
very much alterable and fubiecl to varietie, in [fo] much 
as our fpeach asketh one maner of decencie, in refpect 
of the perfon who fpeakes : another of his to whom it 
is fpoken : another of whom we fpeake : another of 
what we fpeake, and in what place and time and to 
what purpofe. And as it is of fpeach, fo of al other 
our behauiours. We wil therefore fet you down fome 
few examples of euery circumflance how it alters the 
decencie of fpeach or action. And by thefe few fhal 
ye be able to gather a number more to confirme and 
eftablifh your iudgement by a perfit difcretion. 

This decencie, fo farfoorth as apperteineth to the 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 271 

confideration of our art, refteth in writing, fpeech and 
behauiour. But becaufe writing is no more then the 
image or character of fpeech, they fhall goe together 
in thefe our obferuations. And firft wee wil fort you 
out diuers points, in which the wife and learned men 
of times paft haue noted much decency or vndecencie, 
euery man according to his difcretion, as it hath bene 
faid afore : but wherein for the moil part all difcreete 
men doe generally agree, and varie not in opinion, 
whereof the examples I will geue you be worthie o 
remembrance : and though they brought with them no 
doctrine or inftitution at all, yet for the folace they 
may geue the readers, after fuch a rable of fcholaftical 
precepts which be tedious, thefe reports being of the 
nature hiftoricall, they are to be embraced : but olde 
memories are very profitable to the mind, and feme 
as a glaffe to looke vpon and behold the euents of 
time, and more exactly to skan the trueth of euery 
cafe that fhall happen in the affaires of man, and many 
there be. that haply doe not obferue euery particularitie 
in matters of decencie or vndecencie : and yet when 
the cafe is tolde them by another man, they commonly 
geue the fame fentence vpon it. But yet whofoeuer 
obferueth much, fhalbe counted the wifeft and dif- 
creeteft man, and whofoeuer fpends all his life in his 
owne vaine actions and conceits, and obferues no 
mans elfe, he fhal in the end prooue but a fnuple man. 
In which refpect it is alwaies faid, one man of experi- 
ence is wifer than tenne learned men, becaufe of his 
long and ftudious obferuation and often triall. 

And your decencies are of fundrie forts, according 
to the many circumftances accompanying our writing, 
fpeech or behauiour, fo as in the very found or voice 
of him that fpeaketh, there is a decencie that becom- 
meth, and an vndecencie that misbecommeth vs, which 
th' Emperor Anthonine marked well in the Orator 
Philifeus, who fpake before him with fo fmall and 
fhrill a voice as the Emperor was greatly annoyed 
therewith, and to make him fhorten his tale, faid, by 



272 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

thy beard thou fhouldfl be a man. but by thy voice 
a woman. 

Phaucriuus the Philofopher was- counted very wife 
and well learned, but a little too talkatiue and full of 
words : for the which Timocrates reprooued him in the 
hearing of one Polemon. That is no wonder quoth 
Pokmoju for fo be all women. And befides, Phauo- 
rinus being knowen for an Eunuke or gelded man. 
came by the fame nippe to be noted as an effeminate 
and degenerate perfon. 

And there is a meafure to be vfed in a mans fpeech 
or tale, fo as it be neither for fhortneiie too darke. nor 
for length too tedious. Which made Cleomenes king of 
the Lacedemonians geue this vnpleafant anfwere to the 
Ambaffadors of the Samiens, who had tolde him a 
long meflage from their Citie, and defired to know his 
pleafure in it. My maulers (faith he) the firft part of 
your tale was fo long, that I remember it not. which 
made that the fecond I vnderftoode not. and as for 
the third part I doe nothing well allow of. Great 
princes and graue counfellers who haue little fp; 
leifure to he ould haue fpeeches vfed to them 

nich as be fbort and fweete. 

And if they be fpoken by a man of account, or one 
who for his yeares, profeiiion or dignitie fhould be 
thought wife and reuerend, his fpeeches and words 
mould alfo be graue, pithie and fententious. which v 
well noted by king Antiochns, who likened Hermoge* 
the famous Orator of Greece, vnto thefe fowles in their 
moulting time, when their feathers be lick, and be fo 
loafe in the fleih that at any little rowfe they can eafilie 
make them off: fo faith he. can Hermogenes of all the 
men that euer I knew, as eafilie deliuer from him his 
vaine and impertinent fpeeches and words. 

And there is a decencie. that euery fpeech mould 
be to the appetite and delight, or dignitie of the hearer 
and not for any refpect arrogant or vndutifull, 
that of A r lent Embaffadour from the Athenu 

to th'Emperour Marcus, this man feing th'emperour 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 273 

not fo attentiue to his tale, as he would haue had him, 
faid by way of interruption, Ccefar I pray thee giue me 
better eare, it feemefl thou knoweft me not, nor from 
whom I came : the Emperour nothing well liking his 
bold malapert fpeech, faid : thou art deceyued, for I 
heare thee and know well inough, that thou art that 
fine, foolilh, curious, fawcie Alexander that tendefl to 
nothing but to combe and cury thy haire, to pare thy 
nailes, to pick thy teeth, and to perfume thy felfe with 
fweet oyles, that no man may abide the fent of thee. 
Prowde fpeeches, and too much fineffe and curiofitie 
is not commendable in an Embaffadour. And I haue 
knowen in my time fuch of them, as ftudied more 
vpon what apparell they mould weare, and what coun- 
tenaunces they Ihould keepe at the times of their 
audience, then they did vpon th' effect of their errant 
or commiffion. 

And there is decency in that euery man ihould talke 
of the things they haue bell skill of, and not in that, 
their knowledge and learning ferueth them not to do, 
as we are wont to fay, he fpeaketh of Robin hood that 
neuer Ihot in his bow : there came a great Oratour 
before Cleomenes king of Lacedemonia, and vttered much 
matter to him touching fortitude and valiancie in the 
warres : the king laughed : why laughell thou quoth 
the learned man, fince thou art a king thy felfe, and 
one whom fortitude bell becommeth ? why said Cleo- 
menes would it not make any body laugh, to heare the 
fwallow who feeds onely vpon flies, to boail of his 
great pray, and fee the eagle Hand by and fay nothing ? 
if thou wert a man of warre or euer hadft bene day 
of thy life, I would not laugh to here thee fpeake of 
valiancie, but neuer being fo, and fpeaking before an 
old captaine' I can not choofe but laugh. 

And fome things and fpeaches are decent or inde- 
cent in refpecl of the time they be fpoken or done in. 
As when a great clerk prefented king Antiochus with a 
booke treating all of iuilice, the king that time lying 
at the fiege of a towne, who lookt vpon the title of the 

s 



274 OF ORNAMENT, LIB. III. 

booke, and caft it to him againe : faying, what a diuell 
tellefl thou to me of iuftice, now thou feefl me vfe 
force and do the beft I can to bereeue mine enimie 
of his towne? euery thing hath his feafon which is 
called Oportunitie, and the vnfitneffe or vndecency of 
the time is called Importunitie. 

Sometime the vndecen[c]y arifeth by the indignitie of 
the word in refpecl of the fpeaker himfelfe, as whan a 
daughter of Fraunce and next heyre generall to the 
crowne (if the law Salique had not barred her) being 
fet in a great chaufe by fome harde words giuen her 
by another prince of the bloud, faid in her anger, thou 
durft not haue faid thus much to me if God had giuen 
me a paire of, etc. and told all out, meaning if God 
had made her a man and not a woman fhe had bene 
king of Fraunce. The word became not the greatneffe 
of her perfon, and much leffe her fex, whofe chiefe 
vertue is fhamefaflneffe, which the Latines call Vere- 
cundia, that is a naturall feare to be noted with any 
impudicitie : fo as when they heare or fee any thing- 
tending that way they commonly blufh, and is a part 
greatly praifed in all women. 

Yet will ye fee in many cafes how pleafant fpeeches 
and fauouring fome skurrillity and vnihamefaftnes 
haue now and then a certaine decencie, and well be- 
come both the fpeaker to fay, and the hearer to abide, 
but that is by reafon of fome other circumftance, as 
when the fpeaker himfelfe is knowne to be a common 
iefler or buffon, fuch as take vpon them to make 
princes merry, or when fome occafion is giuen by the 
nearer to induce fuch a pleafaunt fpeach, and in many 
other cafes whereof no generall rule can be giuen, but 
are bell knowen by example : as when Sir Andrew 
Flamock king Henry the eights ftanderdbearer, a merry 
conceyted man and apt to skoffe, waiting one day at 
the kings heeles when he enterd the parke at Greene- 
wich, the king blew his home, Flamock hauing his 
belly full, and his tayle at commaundement, gaue out 
a rappe nothing faintly, that the king turned him about 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 275 

and faid how now firra ? Flamock not well knowing how 
to excufe his vnmanerly act, if it pleafe you Sir quoth 
he, your Maiefty blew one blaft for the keeper and I 
another for his man. The king laughed hartily and 
tooke it nothing offenfmely : for indeed as the cafe fell 
out it was not vndecently fpoken by Sir Andrew 
Flamock, for it was the cleanelieft excufe he could 
make, and a merry implicatiue in termes nothing 
odious, and therefore a fporting fatisfaclion to the 
kings mind, in a matter which without fome fuch merry 
anfwere could not haue bene well taken. So was 
Flamocks acting moft vncomely, but bis fpeech excel- 
lently well becomming the occafion. 

But at another time and in another like cafe, the 
fame skurrillitie of Flamock was more offenfiue, becaufe 
it was more indecent. As when the king hauing 
Flamock with him in his barge, paffmg from Weft- 
minfter to Greenewich to vifite a fayre Lady whom the 
king loued and was lodged in the tower of the Parke : 
the king comming within fight of the tower, and being 
difpofed to be merry, faid, Flamock let vs rime : as 
well as I can faid Flamock if it pleafe your grace. 
The king began thus : 

Within this towre, 
There lieth aflozvre, 
That hath my hart. 

Flamock for aunfwer : Within this hower,JIie will, etc. 
with the reft in fo vncleanly termes, as might not now 
become me by the rule of Deco?-um to vtter writing to 
fo great a Maieftie, but the king tooke them in fo euill 
part, as he bid Flamock auant varlet, and that he mould 
no more be fo neere vnto him. And wherein I would 
faine learne, lay this vndecencie ? in the skurrill and 
filthy termes not meete for a kings eare ? perchance fo. 
For the king was a wife and graue man, and though 
he hated not a faire woman, yet liked he nothing well 
to heare fpeeches of ribaudrie : as they report of th'em- 
perour Oclauian: Licet fuer it ipfe incontinentiffimus, fuit 
tamen incontinente feueriffimus vltor. But the very 



276 OF OR X AMEN T. LIB. III. 

caufe in deed was for that Flamocks reply anfwered 
not the kings expectation, for the kings rime com- 
mencing with a pleafant and amorous propofition : Sir 
Andrew Flamock to finifh it not with loue but with 
lothfomneffe, by termes very rude and vnciuill, and 
feing the king greatly fauour that Ladie for her much 
beauty by like or fome other good partes, by his faftidi- 
ous aunfwer to make her feeme odious to him. it helde a 
great difproportion to the kings appetite, for nothing 
is fo vnpleafant to a man, as to be encountred in his 
chiefe affection, and fpecially in his loues, and whom 
we honour we mould alfo reuerence their appetites, or 
at the leaft beare with them (not being wicked and 
vtterly euill) and whatfoeuer they do affect, we do not 
as becommeth vs if we make it feeme to them horrible. 
This in mine opinion was the chiefe caufe of the vn- 
decencie and alfo of the kings offence. Arijlotle the 
great philofopher knowing this very well, what time he 
put Calijienes to king Alexander the greats feraice gaue 
him this leffon. Sirra quoth he, ye go now from a 
fcholler to be a courtier, fee ye fpeake to the king 
your maifter, either nothing at all, or elfe that which 
pleafeth him, which rule if Calijienes had followed and 
forborne to croffe the kings appetite in diuerfe fpeeches, 
it had not coft him fo deepely as afterward it did. A 
like matter of offence fell out betweene th'Emperour 
Charles the fifth, and an Embaffadour of king Henry 
the eight, whom I could name but will not for the 
great opinion the world had of his wifdome and 
fufiiciency in that behalfe, and all for mifufmg of a 
terme. The king in the matter of controuerfie betwixt 
him and Ladie CatJieriiie of Cajlill the Emperours awnt, 
found himfelfe grieued that the Emperour mould take 
her part and worke vnder hand with the Pope to 
hinder the diuorce : and gaue his Embaffadour com- 
miffion in good termes to open his griefes to the 
Emperour, and to expoftulat with his Maieftie, for that 
he feemed to forget the kings great kindneffe and 
friendfhip before times vfed with th'Emperour, afwell 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 277 

by difburfmg for him fundry great fummes of monie 
which were not all yet repayd : as alfo by furnifhing 
him at his neede with (lore of men and munition to 
his warres, and now to be thus vfed he thought it a 
very euill requitall. The Embaffadour for too much 
animofitie and more "then needed in the cafe, or per- 
chance by ignorance of the proprietie of the Spanifh 
tongue, told the Emperour among other words, that 
he was Hombre el mas ingrato en elmondo, the ingrateft 
perfon in the world to vfe his maifter fo. The Emper- 
our tooke him fuddainly with the word, and faid : calleft 
thou me ingrato ? I tell thee learne better termes, or 
elfe I will teach them thee. Th' Embaffadour excufed 
it by his commiffion, and faid : they were the king his 
maiflers words, and not his owne. Nay quoth th' Em- 
perour, thy maifter durft not haue fent me thefe words, 
were it not for that broad ditch betweene him and me, 
meaning the fea, which is hard to paffe with an army 
of reuenge. The Embaffadour was commanded away 
and no more hard by the Emperor, til by fome other 
means afterward the grief was either pacified or for- 
gotten, and all this inconuenience grew by mifufe of 
one word, which being otherwife fpoken and in fome 
fort qualified, had eafily holpen all, and yet the' Em- 
baffadour might fufficiently haue fatisfied his commiffion 
and much better aduaunced his purpofe, as to haue 
faid for this word [ye are ingrate,] ye haue not vfed fuch 
gratitude towards him as he hath deferued : fo ye may 
fee how a word fpoken vndecently, not knowing the 
phrafe or proprietie of a language, maketh a whole 
matter many times mifcarrie. In which refpect it is to 
be wifhed, that none Ambaffadour fpeake his principall 
commandements but in his own language or in another 
as naturall to him as his owne, and fo it is vfed in all 
places of the world fauing in England. The Princes 
and their commiffioners fearing leaft otherwife they 
might vtter any thing to their difaduantage, or els to 
their difgrace : and I my felfe hauing feene the Courts 
of Fraunce, Spaine, Italie, and that of the Empire, with 



278 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

many inferior Courts, could neuer perceiue that the 
mod noble perfonages, though they knew very well 
how to fpeake many forraine languages, would at any 
times that they had bene fpoken vnto, anfwere but in 
their owne, the Frenchman in French, the Spaniard in 
Spanifh, the Italian in Italian, and the very Dutch 
Prince in the Dutch language : whether it were more 
for pride, or for feare of any lapfe, cannot tell. And 
Henrie Earle of Arundel being an old Courtier and a 
very princely man in all his actions, kept that rule 
alwaies. For on a time paffmg from England towards 
Italie by her maiefties licence, he was very honorably 
enterteinedat the Court of Bruffels.by the Lady Duches 
of Parma, Regent there : and fitting at a banquet with 
her, where alfo was the Prince of Orange, with all the 
great eft Princes of the ftate, the Earle, though he could 
reafonably well fpeake French, would not fpeake one 
French word, but all Englifh, whether he asked any 
queftion, or anfwered it, but all was done by Truche- 
men. In fo much as the Prince of Orange maruelling 
at it, looked a fide on that part where I iioode a be- 
holder of the feaft, and fayd, I maruell your Noblemen 
of England doe not defire to be better languaged in 
forraine languages. This word was by and by reported 
to the Earle. Quoth the Earle againe, tell my Lord 
the Prince, that I loue to fpeake in that language, in 
which I can belt vtter my minde and not miftake. 

Another Ambaffadour vfed the like ouerfight by 
ouerweening himfelfe that he could naturally fpeake 
the French tongue, whereas in troth he was not skil- 
full in their termes. This Ambaffadour being a Bo- 
hemian, fent from the Emperour to the French Court, 
where after his lirlt audience, he was highly fealted 
and banqueted. On a time, among other, a great 
Princeffe fitting at the table, by way of talke asked the 
Ambaffadour whether the Empreffe his miltreffe when 
fhe went a hunting, or otherwife trauailed abroad for 
her folace, did ride a horsback or goe in her coach. 
To which the Ambaffadour anfwered vnwares and 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 279 

not knowing the French terme, Par ma foy elle cheu- 
auche fort bien, et si en pr end grand plaifir. She rides 
(faith he) very well, and takes great pleafure in it. 
There was good fmiling one vpon another of the 
Ladies and Lords, the Ambaffador will not whereat, 
but laughed himfelfe for companie. This word Cheu- 
aucher in the French tongue hath a reprobate fence, 
fpecially being fpoken of a womans riding. 

And as rude and vnciuill fpeaches carry a marueilous 
great indecencie, fo doe fometimes thofe that be ouer- 
much affected and nice : or that doe fauour of ignor- 
ance or adulation, and be in the eare of graue and wife 
perfons no leffe offenfme than the other : as when a 
futor in Rome came to Tiberius the Emperor and faid, 
I would open my cafe to your Maieftie, if it were not 
to trouble your facred bufmeffe, facras vejiras occupa- 
tions as the Hiftoriographer reporteth. What meaneft 
thou by that terme quoth the Emperor, fay laboriofas 
I pray thee, and fo thou maift truely fay, and bid him 
leaue off fuch affected nattering termes. 

The like vndecencie vfed a Herald at armes fent by 
Charles the fifth Emperor, to Fraunces the firft French 
king, bringing him a meffage of defiance, and thinking 
to qualifie the bitterneffe of his meffage with words 
pompous and magnificent for the kings honor, vfed 
much this terme (facred Maieftie) which was not vfually 
geuen to the French king, but to fay for the mod part 
[Sire] The French king neither liking of his errant, 
nor yet of his pompous fpeech, faid fomewhat lharply, 
I pray thee good fellow clawe me not where I itch not 
with thy facred maieftie, but goe to thy bufmeffe, and 
tell thine errand in fuch termes as are decent betwixt 
enemies, for thy mailer is not my frend, and turned 
him to a Prince of the bloud who ftoode by, faying, 
me thinks this fellow fpeakes like Bifhop Nicholas, for 
on Saint Nicholas night commonly the Scholars of the 
Countrey make them a Bifhop, who like a foolifh boy, 
goeth about bleffmg and preaching with fo childifh 
termes, as maketh the people laugh at his foolifh 
counterfaite fpeeches. 



280 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And yet in fpeaking or writing of a Princes affaires 
and fortunes there is a certaine Decorum, that we may 
not vfe the fame termes in their bufmes, as we might 
very wel doe in a meaner perfons, the cafe being all 
one, fuch reuerence is due to their eflates. As for ex- 
ample, if an Hiftoriographer fhal write of an Emperor 
or King, how fuch a day hee ioyned battel with his 
enemie, and being ouer-laide ranne out of the fielde, and 
tooke his heeles, or put fpurre to his horfe and fled as faft 
as hee could : the termes be not decent, but of a 
meane fouldier or captaine, it were not vndecently 
fpoken. And as one, who tranflating certaine bookes 
of Virgils ALneidos into Englifh meetre, faid that 
ALneas was fayne to trudge out of Troy : which terme 
became better to be fpoken of a beggar, or of a rogue, 
or a lackey : for fo wee vfe to fay to fuch maner of 
people, be trudging hence. 

Another Englifhing this word of Virgill \fato profu- 
gus\ call Apneas [by fate a fugitine\ which was vnde- 
cently fpoken, and not to the Authours intent in the 
fame word : for whom he ftudied by all means to 
auaunce aboue all other men of the world for vertue 
and magnanimitie, he meant not to make him a fugi- 
tiue. But by ocean on of his great diftreffes, and of 
the hardneffe of his deflinies, he would haue it appeare 
that AZtieas was enforced to flie out of Troy, and for 
many yeeres to be a romer and a wandrer about the 
world both by land and fea \_fato profngns\ and neuer 
to find any refting place till he came into Italy, fo as 
ye may euidently perceiue in this terme [fugitiue\ a 
notable indignity offred to that princely perfon, and 
by th' other word (a wanderer) none indignitie at all, 
but rather a terme of much loue and commiferation. 
The fame tranflatour when he came to thefe wordes : 
Infignem pietate virum, tot voluere cafus tot adire la- 
hores compulit. Hee turned it thus, what moued Iuno to 
tugge fo great a captaine as sEneas, which word tugge 
fpoken in this cafe is fo vndecent as none other coulde 
haue bene deuifed, and tooke his firfl originall from 



OF ORXAMEXT. LIB. III. 

the cart, becaufe it fignifieth the pull or draught of the 
oxen or horfes, and therefore the leathers that beare 
the chiefe ilreiTe of the draught, the c all them 

and fo wee vfe to fay that ihrewd boyes togge 
each other by the eares, for pull. 

Another of our vulgar makers, fpake as illfarmgly in 
- verfe written to the difpraife of a rich man and 
couetous. Thou haft a mifers minde (thou haft a 
prin ces [ elfe a lewde terme to be fpoken of a prin 
tieafure, which in no refpectnor for any caufe is to be 
called pelfe, though it were neuer fo meane, for pelfe 

the fcrappes or Ihreds of taylor 
ners, which are accompted of fo vile price as they be 
commonly caft out of dores, or otherwife b eft owed 
vpon bafe purpofes : and carrieth not the like reafon 
or decencie, as when we fay in reproch of a niggard 
or vferer, or worldly couetous man, that he fetteth 
more by a little pelfe of the world, than by his credit 
or health, or conscience. For in comparifon of thefe 
treafours, all the gold or filuer in the world may by a 
skornefull terme be called pelfe, and fo ye fee that the 
reafon of the decencie holdeth not alike in both cafes. 
Now let *5 paffe from thefe examples, to treate of 
thofe that concerne the comelineffe and decencie of 
mans behauiour. 

And fome fpeech may be whan it is fpoken very 
vndecent, and yet the fame hauing afterward fomewhat 
added to it may become prety and decent, as was the 
flowte worde vfed by a captaine in Fraunce, who fitt- 
ing at the lower end of the Duke of Guyfes table among 
many, the day after there had bene a great battaile 
fought en, the Duke finding that this captaine was not 
feene that day to do any thing in the field, taxed him 
priuily thus in al the hearings. Where were you Si 
the day of the battaile, for I faw ye not ? the captaine 
anfwered promptly : where ye durfl not haue bene : 
and the Duke began to kindle with the worde, which 
the Gentleman perceiuing, faid fpedily : I was that day 
among the carnages, where your excellencie would not 



282 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

for a thoufand crownes haue bene feene. Thus from 
vndecent it came by a wittie reformation to be made 
decent againe. 

The like hapned on a time at the Duke of North- 
umberlandes bourd, where merry John Hey wood was al- 
lowed to fit at the tables end. The Duke had a very 
noble and honorable mynde alwayes to pay his debts 
well, and when he lacked money, would not flick to 
fell the greatefl part of his plate : fo had he done few 
dayes before. Heywood being loth to call for his 
drinke fo oft as he was dry, turned his eye toward the 
cupbord and fayd I finde great miffe of your graces 
{landing cups : the Duke thinking he had fpoken it of 
fome knowledge that his plate was lately fold, faid 
fomewhat fharpely, why Sir will not /thofe cuppes ferue 
as good a man as your felfe. Heywood readily replied. 
Yes if it pleafe your grace, but I would haue one of 
them ftand flill at myne elbow full of drinke that I 
might not be driuen to trouble your men fo often to 
call for it. This pleafant and fpeedy reuers of the 
former wordes holpe all the matter againe, whereupon 
the Duke became very pleafaunt and dranke a bolle 
of wine to Heywood, and bid a cup mould alwayes be 
Handing by him. 

It were to bufie a peece of worke for me to tell you 
of all the parts of decencie and indecency which haue 
bene obferued in the fpeaches of man and in his 
writings, and this that I tell you is rather to folace your 
eares with pretie conceits after a fort of long fcholafti- 
call preceptes which may happen haue doubled them, 
rather then for any other purpofe of inftitution or 
doctrine, which to any Courtier of experience, is not 
neceffarie in this behalfe. And as they appeare by 
the former examples to reft in our fpeach and writing : 
fo do the fame by like proportion confifl in the whole 
behauiour of man, and that which he doth well and 
commendably is euer decent, and the contrary vn- 
decent, not in euery mans iudgement alwayes one, but 
after their feuerall difcretion and by circumftance 
diuerfly, vs by the next Chapter fhalbe fhewed. 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 283 

CHAP. XXIIIL 

Of dccencie in behauiour which alfo belongs to the con- 

fi deration of the Poet or maker. 

jNd there is a decency to be obferued in 
euery mans action and behauiour afwell 
as in his fpeach and writing which fome 
peraduenture would thinke impertinent to 
be treated of in this booke, where we do 
but informe the commendable fafhions of language and 
ftile : but that is otherwife, for the good maker or poet 
who is in decent fpeach and good termes to defcribe 
all things and with prayfe or difpraife to report euery 
mans behauiour, ought to know the comelinerle of an 
action afwell as of a word and thereby to direct him- 
felfe both in praife and perfwafion or any other point 
that perteines to the Oratours arte. Wherefore fome 
examples we will fet downe of this maner of decency 
in behauiour leauing you for the reft to our booke 
which we haue written de Pecoro, where ye fhall fee 
both partes handled more exactly. And this decencie 
of mans behauiour afwell as of his fpeach muft alfo be 
deemed by difcretion, in which regard the thing that 
may well become one man to do may not become 
another, and that which is feemely to be done in this 
place is not fo feemely in that, and at fuch a time decent, 
but at another time vndecent, and in fuch a cafe and 
for fuch a purpofe, and to this and that end and by 
this and that euent, perufmg all the circumftances with 
like confideration. Therefore we fay that it might 
become king Alexander to giue a hundreth talentes to 
Anaxagoras the Philofopher, but not for a beggerly 
Philofopher to accept fo great a gift, for fuch a 
Prince could not be impouerifhed by that expence, 
but the Philofopher was by it excefiiuely to be en- 
riched, fo was the kings action proportionable to his 
eftate and therefore decent, the Philofophers, difpro- 
portionable both to his profeflion and calling and there- 
fore indecent. 



284 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And yet if we fhall examine the fame point with a 
clearer difcretion, it may be faid that whatfoeuer it 
might become king Alexander of his regal largeffe to 
beftow vpon a poore Philofopher vnasked, that might 
afwell become the Philofopher to receiue at his hands 
without refufal, and had otherwife bene fome em- 
peachement of the kings abilitie or wifedome, which 
had not bene decent in the Philofop[h]er, nor the im- 
moderatneffe of the kinges gift in refpecl of the Philo- 
fophers meane eftate made his acceptance the leffe 
decent, fmce Princes liberalities are not meafured by 
merite nor by other mens eftimations, but by their 
owne appetits and according to their greatneffe. So 
faid king Alexander very like himfelfe to one Perillus 
to whom he had geuen a very great gift, which he made 
curtefy to accept, faying it was too much for fuch a 
mean perfon, what quoth the king if it be too much 
for thy felfe, haft thou neuer a friend or kinfman that 
may fare the better by it ? But peraduenture if any 
fuch immoderat gift had bene craned by the Philofo- 
pher and not voluntarily offred by the king it had bene 
vndecent to haue taken it. Euen fo if one that ftand- 
eth vpon his merite, and fpares to craue the Princes 
liberalise in that which is moderate and fit for him, 
doth as vndecently. For men fhould not expect till 
the Prince remembred it of himfelfe and began as it 
were the gratification, but ought to be put in remem- 
braunce by humble felicitations, and that is duetifull 
and decent, which made king Henry th' eight her 
Maiefties moft noble father, and for liberality nothing 
inferiour to king Alexander the great, aunfwere one of 
his priuie chamber, who prayd him to be good and 
gracious to a certaine old Knight being his feruant, for 
that he was but an ill begger, if he be afhamed to begge 
we wil thinke fcorne to giue. And yet peraduenture 
in both thefe cafes, the vndecencie for too much crauing 
or fparing to craue, might be eafily holpen by a decent 
magnificence in the Prince, as Amazis king of ^Egypt 
very honorably confidered, who asking one day for one 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 285 

Diopithus a noble man of his Court, what was become 
of him for that he had not fene him wait of long time, 
one about the king told him that he heard fay he was 
ficke and of fome conceit he had taken that his 
Maieilie had but ilenderly looked to him, vfing many 
others very bountifully. I befhrew his fooles head 
quoth the king, why had he not fued vnto vs and 
made vs priuie of his want, then added, but in truth 
we are moil to blame our femes, who by a mindeful 
beneficence without fute mould haue fupplied his 
balhmlneffe, and forthwith commaunded a great reward 
in money and penfion to be fent vnto him, but it 
hapned that when the kings meffengers entred the 
chamber of Diopithus, he had newly giuen vp the 
ghoft : the meffengers forrowed the cafe, and Diopithus 
friends fate by and wept, not fo much for Diopithus 
death, as for pitie that he ouerliued not the comming 
of the kings reward. Therupon it came euer after to 
be vfed for a prouerbe that when any good turne 
commeth too late to be vfed, to cal it Diopithus re- 
ward. 

In__Italy and Fraunce I haue knowen it vfed for 
common pollicie, the Princes to differre the bellowing 
of their great liberalities as Cardinalihips and other 
high dignities and offices of gayne, till the parties whom 
they mould feeme to gratilie be fo old or fo ficke as it 
is not likely they mould long enioy them. 

In the time of Charles the ninth French king, I being 
at the Spaw waters, there lay a Marihall of Fraunce 
called Monfieur de Sipier, to vfe thofe waters for his 
health, but when the Phifitions had all giuen him vp, 
and that there was no hope of life in him, came from 
the king to him a letters patents of fix thoufand crownes 
yearely penfion during his life with many comfortable 
wordes : the man was not fo much pail remembraunce, 
but he could fay to the meffenger trop tard, trop tard, 
it ihould haue come before, for in deede it had bene 
promifed long and came not till now that he could not 
fare the better by it. 



286 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And it became king A?itiochus, better to bellow the 
faire Lady Stratonica his wife vpon his fonne Demetrius 
who lay ficke for her loue and would elfe haue perifhed, 
as the Phyfitions cunningly difcouered by the beating of 
his pulfe, then it could become Demetrius to be inam- 
ored with his fathers wife, or to enioy her of his guift, 
becaufe the fathers act was led by difcretion and of a 
fatherly compaffion, not grutching to depart from his 
deereft poileffion to faue his childes life, where as the 
fonne in his appetite had no reafon to lead him to loue 
vnlawfully, for whom it had rather bene decent to die, 
then to haue violated his fathers bed with fafetie of his 
life. 

No more would it be feemely for an aged man to 
play the wanton like a child, for it Hands not with the 
conueniency of nature, yet when king Agefdaus hauing 
a great fort of little children, was one day difpofed to 
folace himfelf among them in a gallery where they 
plaied, and tooke a little hobby horfe of wood and be- 
ftrid it to keepe them in play, one of his friends feemed 
to miflike his lightnes, 6 good friend quoth Agefdaus, 
rebuke me not for this fault till thou haue children of 
thine owne, fhewing in deede that it came not of vani- 
tie but of a fatherly affection, ioying in the fport and 
company of his little children, in which refpect and as 
that place and time ferued, it was difpenceable in him 
and not indecent. 

And in the choife of a mans delights and maner of 
his life, there is a decencie, and fo we fay th'old man 
generally is no fit companion for the young man, nor 
the rich for the poore, nor the wife for the foolifh. Yet 
in fome refpects and by difcretion it may be otherwife, 
as when the old man hath the gouernment of the young, 
the wife teaches the foolifh, the rich is wayted on by the 
poore for their reliefe, in which regard the conuerfation 
is not indecent. 

And Proclus the Philofopher knowing how euery in- 
decencie is vnpleafant to nature, and namely, how vn- 
comely a thing it is for young men to doe as old men 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 287 

doe (at leaftwife as young men for the mod part doe 
take it) applyed it very wittily to his purpofe : for hail- 
ing his fonne and heire a notable vnthrift, and delight- 
ing in nothing but in haukes and hounds, and gay ap- 
parrell, and fuch like vanities, which neither by gentle 
nor fharpe admonitions of his father, could make him 
leaue. Proclus himfelfe not onely bare with his fonne, 
but alfo vfed it himfelfe for company, which fome of his 
trends greatly rebuked him for, faying, 6 Proclus, an 
olde man and a Philofopher to play the foole and laf- 
ciuious more than the fonne. Mary, quoth Proclus, 
and therefore I do it, for it is the next way to make my 
fonne change his life, when he mail fee how vndecent 
it is in me to leade fuch a life, and for him being a 
yong man, to keepe companie with me being an old 
man, and to doe that which I doe. 

So is it not vnfeemely for any ordinarie Captaine 
to winne the victory or any other auantage in warre 
by fraud and breach of faith : as Hanniball with the 
Romans, but it could not well become the Romaines 
managing fo great an Empire, by examples of honour 
and iuftice to doe as Hanniball did. And when Par- 
menio in a like cafe perfwaded king Alexander to breake 
the day of his appointment, and to fet vpon Darius at 
the fodaine, which Alexander refufed to doe, Par- 
menio faying, I would doe it if I were Alexander, and 
I too quoth Alexander if I were Parmenio : but it 
behooueth me in honour to fight liberally with mine 
enemies, and iuflly to ouercome. And thus ye fee 
that was decent in Par memos action, which was not in 
the king his mailers. 

A great nobleman and Counfeller in this Realme 
was fecretlie aduifed by his friend, not to vfe fo much 
writing his letters in fauour of euery man that asked 
them, fpecially to the Iudges of the Realme in cafes 
of iuftice. To whom the noble man anfwered, it be- 
comes vs Councellors better to vfe inflance for our 
friend, then for the Iudges to fentence at inflance : 
for whatfoeuer we doe require them, it is in their choife 



288 OFORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

to refufe to doe, but for all that the example was ill 
and dangerous. 

And there is a decencie in chufmg the times of a 
mans bufmes, and as the Spaniard fayes, es tiempo de 
negotiar, there is a fitte time for euery man to performe 
his bufmeffe in, and to attend his affaires, which out 
of that time would be vndecent : as to fleepe al day 
and wake al night, and to goe a hunting by torch- 
light, as an old Earle of Arundel vfed to doe, or for 
any occafion of little importance, to wake a man out 
of his fleepe, or to make him rife from his dinner to talke . 
with him, or fuch like importunities, for fo we call 
euery vnfeafonable adlion, and the vndecencie of the 
time. 

Callicratides being fent Ambaffador by the Lacede- 
monians, to Cirus the young king of Perfia to contract 
with him for money and men toward their warres againfl 
the Athenians, came to the Court at fuch vnfeafonable 
time as the king was yet in the midft of his dinner, 
and went away againe faying, it is now no time to in- 
terrupt the kings mirth. He came againe another day 
in the after noone, and finding the king at a rere-ban- 
quet, and to haue taken the wine fomewhat plentifully, 
turned back againe, faying, I thinke there is no houre 
fitte to deale with Cirus, for he is euer in his banquets : 
I will rather leaue all the bufmes vndone, then doe 
anything that fhall not become the Lacedemonians : 
meaning to offer conference of fo great importaunce to 
his Countrey, with a man fo diftempered by furfet, as 
hee was not likely to geue him any reafonable refolu- 
tion in the caufe. 

One Eudamidas brother to king Agis of Lacedemonia, 
comming by Zenocrates fchoole and looking in, faw him 
fit in his chaire, difputing with a long hoare beard, 
asked who it was, one anfwered, Sir it is a wife man 
and one of them that fearches after vertue, and if he 
haue not yet found it quoth Eudamidas when will he 
vfe it, that now at this yeares is feeking after it, as 
who would fay it is not time to talke of matters when 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 289 

they mould be put in execution, nor for an old man 
to be to feeke what vertue is, which all his youth he 
mould haue had in exercife. 

Another time comming to heare a notable Philofo- 
pher difpute, it happened, that all was ended euen as 
he came, and one of his familiers would haue had him 
requefted the Philofopher to beginne againe, that were 
indecent and nothing ciuill quoth Eudamidas, for if he 
mould come to me fupperleffe when I had fupped be- 
fore, were it feemely for him to pray me to fuppe againe 
for his companie. 

And the place makes a thing decent or indecent, in 
which confideration one Euboidas being fent Embaffa- 
dour into a forraine realme, fome of his familiars tooke 
occafion at the table to praife the wiues and women 
of that country in prefence of their owne husbands, 
which th'embaffadour mifliked, and when fupper was 
ended and the gueftes departed, tooke his familiars 
afide, and told them it was nothing decent in a ftrange 
country to praife the women, nor fpecially a wife before 
her husbands face, for inconueniencie that might rife 
thereby, afwell to the prayfer as to the woman, and 
that the chiefe commendation of a chafl matrone, was 
to be knowen onely to her husband, and not to be 
obferued by flraungers and gueftes. 

And in the vfe of apparell there is no litle decency 
and vndencie to be perceiued, as w^ell for the fafhion 
as the ftuffe, for it is comely that euery eftate and vo- 
cation mould be knowen by the differences of their 
habit : a clarke from a lay man : a gentleman from a 
yeoman : a fouldier from a citizen, and the chiefe of 
euery degree from their inferiours, becaufe in confufion 
and diforder there is no manner of decencie. 

The Romanies of any other people moft feuere 
cenfurers of decencie, thought no vpper garment fo 
comely for a ciuill man as a long playted gowne, be- 
caufe it fheweth much grauitie and alfo pudicitie, hid- 
ing euery member of the body which had not bin 
pleafant to behold. In fomuch as a certain Proconfull 

T 



290 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

or Legat of theirs dealing one day with Ptolome king 
of Egipt, feeing him clad in a flraite narrow garment 
very lafciuioufly, difcouering euery part of his body, 
gaue him a great check e for it : and faid, that vnleffe 
he vfed more fad and comely garments, the Romaines 
would take no pleafure to hold amitie with him, for 
by the wantonnes of his garment they would iudge 
the vanitie of his mind, not to be worthy of their con- 
flant friendfhip. A pleafant old courtier wearing one 
day in the fight of a great councellour, after the new 
guife, a-french cloake skarce reaching to the wast, a 
long beaked doublet hanging downe to his thies, and 
an high paire of hike netherftocks that couered all his 
buttockes and loignes, the Councellor maruelled to fee 
him in that fort difguifed, and otherwife than he had 
bin woont to be. Sir quoth the Gentleman to excufe 
it : if I mould not be able whan I had need to piffe 
out of my doublet, and to do the reft in my nether- 
ftocks (vfmg the plaine terme) all men would fay I 
were but a lowte, the Councellor laughed hartily at 
the abfurditie of the fpeech, but what would thofe 
fower fellowes of Rome have faid trowe ye ? truely in 
mine opinion, that all fuch perfons as take pleafure to 
fhew their limbes, fpecially thofe that nature hath 
commanded out of fight, mould be inioyned either to 
go ftarke naked, or elfe to refort backe to the comely 
and modeft fafhion of their owne countrie apparell, 
vfed by their old honorable aunceftors. 

And there is a decency of apparel in refpect of the 
place it is to be vfed : as, in the Court to be richely 
apparrelled : in the countrey to weare more plain and 
homely garments. For who who would not thinke it a 
ridiculous thing to fee a Lady in her milke-houfe with 
a veluet gowne, and at a bridall in her caffock of 
mockado : a Gentleman of the Countrey among the 
bufhes and briers, goe in a pounced dublet and a paire 
of embrodered hofen, in the Citie to weare a frife Ierkin 
and a paire of leather breeches ? yet fome fuch phan- 
tafticals haue I knowen, and one a certaine knight, of all 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 291 

other the moft vaine, who commonly would come to 
the Seffions, and other ordinarie meetings and Com- 
miffions in the Countrey, fo bedecl: with buttons and 
aglets of gold and fuch coftly embroderies, as the 
poore plaine men of the Countrey called him (for his 
gayneife) the golden knight. Another for the like 
caufe was called Saint Sunday : I thinke at this day 
they be fo farre fpent, as either of them would be con- 
tent with a good cloath cloake : and this came by 
want of difcretion to difcerne and deeme right of de- 
cencie, which many Gentlemen doe wholly limite by the 
perfon or degree, where reafon doeth it by the place 
and prefence : which may be fuch as it might very well 
become a great Prince to weare courier apparrell than 
in another place or prefence a meaner perfon. 

Neuertheleffe in the vfe of a garment many occa- 
fions alter the decencie, fometimes the qualitie of the 
perfon, fometimes of the cafe, other whiles the coun- 
trie cuflome, and often the conftitution of lawes, and 
the very nature of vfe it felfe. As for example a 
king and prince may vfe rich and gorgious apparell 
decently, fo cannot a meane perfon doo, yet if an 
herald of amies to whom a king giueth his gowne 
of cloth of gold, or to whom it was incident as a fee 
of his office, do were the fame, he doth it decently, 
becaufe fuch hath alwaies bene th' allowances of her- 
aldes : but if fuch herald haue worne out, or fold, or 
loft that gowne, to buy him a new of the like ftuffe 
with his owne mony and to weare it, is not decent in 
the eye and iudgement of them that know it. 

And the country cuflome maketh things decent in 
vfe, as in Afia for all men to weare long gownes both 
a foot and horfebacke : in Europa fhort gaberdins, or 
clokes, or iackets, euen for their vpper garments. 
The Turke and Perfian to weare great tolibants of 
ten, fifteene, and twentie elles of linnen a peece vpon 
their heads, which can not be remooued : in Europe 
to were caps or hats, which vpon euery occafion of 
falutation we vfe to put of, as a figne of reuerence. 



292 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

In th'Eafl partes the men to make water coining like 
women, with vs {landing at a wall. With them to 
congratulat and falute by giuing a becke with the 
head, or a bende of the bodie, with vs here in Eng- 
land, and in Germany, and all other Northerne parts 
of the world to fhake handes. In France, Italie, and 
Spaine to embrace ouer the moulder, vnder the armes, 
at the very knees, according to the fuperiors degree. 
With vs the wemen giue their mouth to be kiffed, in 
other places their cheek, in many places their hand, 
or in fleed of an offer to the hand, to fay thefe words 
Bezo los manos. And yet fome others furmounting 
in all courtly ciuilitie will fay, Los manos e los 
piedes. And aboue that reach too, there be that will 
fay to the Ladies, Lombra de fus pifadas, the fhadow 
of your fteps. Which I recite vnto you to fhew the 
phrafe of thofe courtly feruitours in yeelding the mif- 
treffes honour and reuerence. 

And it is feen that very particular vfe of it felfe 
makes a matter of much decencie and vndecencie, 
without any countrey cuftome or allowance, as if one 
that hath many yeares worne a gowne mail come to 
be feen weare a iakquet or ierkin, or he that hath 
many yeares worne a beard or long haire among thofe 
that had done the contrary, and come fodainly to be 
pold or fhauen, it will feeme onely to himfelfe, a de- 
shight and very vndecent, but alfo to all others that 
neuer vfed to go fo, vntill the time and cuftome haue 
abrogated that miflike. 

So was it here in England till her Maiefties moft 
noble father for diuers good refpecls, caufed his owne 
head and all his Courtiers to be polled and his beard 
to be cut fhort. Before that time it was thought more 
decent both for old men and young to be all fhauen 
and to weare long haire either rounded or fquare. Now 
againe at this time the young Gentlemen of the Court 
haue taken vp the long haire trayling on their moul- 
ders, and thinke it more decent : for what refpect I 
would be glad to know. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 293 

The Lacedemonians bearing long bufhes of haire, 
finely kept and curled vp, vfed this ciuill argument to 
maintaine that cuflome. Haire (fay they) is the very 
ornament of nature appointed for the head, which 
therfore to vfe in his moil fumptuous degree is comely, 
fpecially for them that be Lordes, Maifters of men, and 
of a free life, hauing abilitie and leafare inough to 
keepe it cleane, and fo for a figne of feignorie, riches 
and libertie. the mailers of the Lacedemonians vfed 
long haire. But their vaffals, feruaunts and flaues vfed 
it fhort or fhauen in figne of feruitude and becaufe 
they had no meane nor leafure to kembe and keepe it 
cleanely. It was befides comberfome to them hauing 
many bufmeffe to attende, in fome feruices there might 
no maner of filth be falling from their heads. And to 
all fouldiers it is very noyfome and a daungerous dif- 
auantage in the warres or in any particular combat, 
which being the mod comely profeliion of euery noble 
young Gentleman, it ought to perfwade them greatly 
from wearing long haire. If there be any that feeke 
by long haire to helpe or to hide an ill featured face, 
it is in them allowable fo to do, becaufe euery man 
may decently reforme by arte, the faultes and imper- 
fections that nature hath wrought in them. 

And all fmgularities or affected parts of a mans be- 
hauiour feeme vndecent, as for one man to march or 
iet in the ilreet more ilately, or to looke more fol- 
empnely, or to go more gayly and in other coulours 
or fafhioned garments then another of the fame degree 
and eftate. 

Yet fuch fmgularities haue had many times both 
good liking and good fucceffe, otherwise then many 
would haue looked for. As when Dinocrates the fam- 
ous architect, defirous to be knowen to king Alexander 
the great, and hauing none acquaintance to bring him 
to the kings fpeech, he came one day to the Court very 
ftrangely apparelled in long skarlet robes, his head 
compafl with a garland of Laurell, and his face all to 
be flicked with fweet oyle, and floode in the kings 



294 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

chamber, motioning nothing to any man: newes of this 
ftranger came to the king, who caufed him to be 
brought to his prefence, and asked his name, and the 
caufe of his repaire to the Court. He aunfwered, his 
name was Dinoct 'cites the Ar chit eel, who came to pre- 
fent his Maieflie with a platforme of his owne deuifmg, 
how his Maieflie might buylde a Citie vpon the moun- 
taine Athos in Macedonia, which mould beare the 
figure of a mans body, and tolde him all how. For- 
footh the breaft and bulke of his body mould reft vpon 
fuch a flat : that hil mould be his head, all fet with 
foregrowen woods like haire: his right arme mould 
ftretch out to fuch a hollow bottome as might be like 
his hand : holding a difh conteyning al the waters that 
mould ferue that Citie : the left arme with his hand 
mould hold a valley of all the orchards and gardens of 
pleafure pertaining thereunto : and either legge mould 
lie vpon a ridge of rocke, very gallantly to behold, and 
fo mould accomplifh the full figure of a man. The king 
asked him what commoditie of foyle, or fea, or nauig- 
able riuer lay neere vnto it, to be able to fuftaine fo 
great a number of inhabitants. Truely Sir (quoth 
Dinocrates) I haue not yet confidered thereof: for in 
trueth it is the bareft part of all the Countrey of Mace- 
donia. The king fmiled at it, and faid very honour- 
ably, we like your deuice well, and meane to vfe your 
feruice in the building of a Citie, but we wil chufe out 
a more commodious fcituation : and made him attend 
in that voyage in which he conquered Afia and Egypt, 
and there made him chiefe Surueyour of his new Citie 
of Alexandria. Thus did Dinocrates fmgularitie in at- 
tire greatly further him to his aduancement. 

Yet are generally all rare things and fuch as breede 
maruell and admiration fomewhat holding of the vn- 
decent, as when a man is bigger and exceeding the 
ordinary flature of a man like a Giaunt, or farre vnder 
the reasonable and common fize of men, as a dwarfe, 
and fuch vndecencies do not angre vs, but either we 
pittie them or fcorne at them. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 295 

But at all infolent and vnwoonted partes of a mans 
behauiour we find many times caufe to miflike or to 
be miftruflfull, which proceedeth of fome vndecency 
that is in it, as when a man that hath alwaies bene 
ftrange and vnacquainted with vs, will fuddenly become 
our familiar and domeftick : and another that hath bene 
alwaies fterne and churliih, wilbe vpon the fuddaine 
affable and curteous, it is neyther a comely fight, nor 
a figne of any good towardes vs. Which the fubtill 
Italian well obferued by the fucceffes thereof, faying in 
Prouerbe. 

Chi me fa meglio che non fiwle, 
Tradito me ha tradir me vnolo. 

He that fpeakes me fairer, than his woont was too 
Hath done me harme, or meanes for to doo. 

Now againe all maner of conceites that ftirre vp any 
vehement paffion in a man, doo it by fome turpitude 
or euill and vndecency that is in them, as to make a 
man angry there mufl be fome iniury or contempt 
offered, to make him enuy there mufl proceede fome 
vndeferued profperitie of his egall or inferiour, to make 
him pitie fome miferable fortune or fpectakle to behold. 

And yet in euery of thefe paffions being as it were 
vndecencies, there is a comelineffe to be difcerned, 
which fome men can keepe and fome men can not, as 
to be angry, or to enuy, or to hate, or to pitie, or to be 
afhamed decently, that is none otherwife then reafon 
requireth. This furmife appeareth to be true, for 
Homer the father of Poets writing that famous and moil 
honourable poeme called the Illiades or warres of Troy: 
made his commencement the magnanimous wrath and 
anger of Achilles in his firfl verfe thus: fisv7jv aids k<x 
niXiahioZ ayjWiiovc. Sing foorth my mufe the wrath of 
Achilles Peleits fonne : which the Poet would neuer 
haue done if the wrath of a prince had not beene in 
fome fort comely and allowable. But when Arrianus 
and Curtius hiftoriographers that wrote the noble geftes 
of king Alexander the great, came to prayfe him for 



296 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

many things, yet for his wrath and anger they reproched 
him, becaufe it proceeded not of any magnanimitie, but 
vpon furfet and diflemper in his diet, nor growing of 
any iuft caufes, was exercifed to the deftruction of his 
deareft friends and familiers, and not of his enemies, nor 
any other waies fo honorably as th'others was, and fo 
could not be reputed a decent and comely anger. 

So may al your other paffions be vied decently 
though the very matter of their originall be' grounded 
vpon fome vndecencie, as it is written by a certaine king 
of Egypt, who looking out of his window, and feing his 
owne fonne for fome grieuous offence, carried by the 
officers of his iuflice to the place of execution : he 
neuer once changed his countenance at the matter, 
though the fight were neuer fo full of ruth and atrocitie. 
And it was thought a decent countenance and conftant 
animofitie in the king to be fo affected, the cafe con- 
cerning fo high and rare a peece of his owne iuflice. 
But within few daies after when he beheld out of the 
fame window an old friend and familiar of his, ftand 
begging an almes in the ftreete, he wept tenderly, re- 
membring their old familiarity and confidering how by 
the mutabilitie of fortune and frailtie of mans eflate, 
it might one day come to paffe that he himfelfe mould 
fall into the like miferable eflate. He therfore had a 
remorfe very comely for a king in that behalfe, which 
alfo caufed him to giue order for his poore friends 
plentiful reliefe. 

But generally to weepe for any forrow (as one may 
doe for pitie) is not fo decent in a man : and therefore all 
high minded perfons, when they cannot chufe but fried 
teares, wil turne away their face as a countenance vn- 
decent for a man to mew, and fo will the (landers by till 
they haue fupprefl fuch paffion, thinking it nothing de- 
cent to behold fuch an vncomely countenance. But for 
Ladies and women to weepe and fhed teares at euery 
little greefe, it is nothing vncomely, but rather a figne 
of much good nature and meeknes of minde, a moft 
decent propertie for that fexe ; and therefore they be 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 297 

for the more part more deuout and charitable, and 
greater geuers of almes than men, and zealous relieuers 
of prifoners, and befeechers of pardons, and fuch like 
parts of commiferation. Yea they be more than fo 
too : for by the common prouerbe, a woman will weepe 
for pitie to fee a golling goe barefoote. 

But moil certainly all things that moue a man to 
laughter, as doe thefe fcurrilities and other ridiculous 
behauiours, it is for fome vndecencie that is found in 
them : which maketh it decent for euery man to laugh 
at them. And therefore when we fee or heare a natu- 
ral foole and idiot doe or fay any thing foolifhly, we 
laugh not at him : but when he doeth or fpeaketh 
wifely, becaufe that is vnlike him felfe : and a buffonne 
or counterfet foole, to heare him fpeake wifely which 
is like himfelfe, it is no fport at all, but for fuch a 
counterfait to talke and looke foolifhly it maketh vs 
laugh, becaufe it is no part of his naturall, for in euery 
vncomlineffe there muft be a certaine abfurditie and 
difproportion to nature, and the opinion of the hearer 
or beholder to make the thing ridiculous. But for a 
foole to talke foolifhly or a wifeman wifely, there is 
no fuch abfurditie or difproportion. 

And though at all abfurdities we may decently laugh, 
and when they be no abfurdities not decently, yet in 
laughing is there an vndecencie for other refpectes 
fometime, than of the matter it felfe, which made 
Philippus fonne to the firft Chriften Emperour, Philip- 
pits Arabicus fitting with his father one day in the 
theatre to behold the fports, giue his father a great 
rebuke becaufe he laughed, faying that it was no comely 
countenance for an Emperour to bewray in fuch a 
publicke place, nor fpecially to laugh at euery foolifh 
toy : the pofteritie gaue the fonne for that caufe the 
name of Philippius Agela/ios or without laughter. 

I haue feene forraine Embaffadours in the Queenes 
prefence laugh fo diffolutely at fome rare paflime or 
fport that hath beene made there, that nothing in the 
world could worfe haue becomen them, and others 



29 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

very wife men, whether it haue ben of fome pleafant 
humour and complexion, or for other default in the 
fpleene, or for ill education or cuftome, that could not 
vtter any graue and earneft fpeech without laughter, 
which part was greatly difcommended in them. 

And Cicero the wifeft of any Romane writers, thought 
it vncomely for a man to daunce : faying, Saltantem 
fobrium vidi neminem. I neuer faw any man daunce 
that was fober and in his right wits, but there by your 
leaue he failed, nor our young Courtiers will allow it, 
befides that it is the moil decent and comely demean- 
our of all exultations and reioycements of the hart, 
which is no leffe naturall to man then to be wife or 
well learned, or fober. 

To tell you the decencies of a number of other be- 
hauiours, one might do it to pleafe you with pretie re- 
portes, but to the skilfull Courtiers it fhalbe nothing 
neceffary, for they know all by experience without 
learning. Yet fome few remembraunces wee will make 
you of the moft materiall, which our felues haue ob- 
ferued, and fo make an end. 

It is decent to be affable and curteous at meales 
and meetings, in open affemblies more folemne and 
ftraunge, in place of authoritie and iudgement not 
familiar nor pleafant, in counfell fecret and fad, in 
ordinary conferences eafie and apert, in conuerfation 
fimple, in capitulation fubtill and miftruftfull, at 
mournings and burials fad and forrowfull, in feafts and 
bankets merry and ioyfull, in houfhold expence pinch- 
ing and fparing, in publicke enteftainement fpending 
and pompous. The Prince to be fumptuous and mag- 
nificent, the priu.ate man liberall with moderation, a 
man to be in giuing free, in asking fpare, in promife 
flow, in performance fpeedy, in contract circumfpect 
but iuft, in amitie fmcere, in ennimitie wily and caute- 
lous [dolus an virtus quis in hofte requirit, faith the 
Poet] and after the fame rate euery fort and maner of 
bufmeffe or affaire or action hath his decencie and 
vndecencie, either for the time or place or perfon or 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 299 

fome other circumftaunce, as Priefts to be fober and 
fad, a Preacher by his life to giue good example, a 
Iudge to be incorrupted, folitarie and vnacquainted 
with Courtiers or Courtly entertainements, and as the 
Philofopher faith Oportet iudicem effe rudem et fimpli- 
cem, without plaite or wrinkle, fower in looke and 
churlifh in fpeach, contrariwife a Courtly Gentleman 
to be loftie and curious in countenaunce, yet fometimes 
a creeper, and a curry fauell with his fuperiors. 

And touching the perfon, we fay it is comely for a 
man to be a lambe in the houfe, and a Lyon in the 
field, appointing the decencie of his qualitie by the 
place, by which reafon alfo we limit the comely parts 
of a woman to confifl in foure points, that is to be a 
fhrewe in the kitchin, a faint in the Church, an Angell 
at the bourd, and an Ape in the bed, as the Chronicle 
reportes by Miftxeffe Shore paramour to king Edward 
the fourth. 

Then alfo there is a decency in refpecl of the per- 
fons with whom we do negotiate, as with the great 
perfonages his egals to be folemne and furly, with 
meaner men pleafant and popular, ftoute with the 
fturdie and milde with the meek, which is a moft 
decent conuerfation and not reprochfull or vnfeemely, 
as the prouerbe goeth, by thofe that vfe the contrary, 
a Lyon among fheepe and a fheepe among Lyons. 

Right fo in negotiating with Princes we ought to 
feeke their fauour by humilitie and not by fternneffe, 
nor to tf arrlcke with them by way of indent or condi- 
tion, but frankly and by manner of fubmifiion to their 
wils, for Princes may be lead but not driuen, nor they 
are to be vanquifht by allegation, but muft be fuffred 
to haue the victorie and be relented vnto : nor they 
are not to be chalenged for right or iuftice, for that 
is a maner of accufation : nor to be charged with 
their promifes, for that is a kinde of condemnation : 
and at their requeft we ought not to be hardly en- 
treated but eafily, for that is a figne of defndence and 
miftrufl in their bountie and gratitude : nor to recite 



300 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

the good feruices which they haue receiued at our 
hands, for that is but a kind of exprobration, but in 
crauing their bountie or largeffe to remember vnto 
them all their former beneficences, making no men- 
tion of our owne merites, and fo it is thankfull, and 
in prayfmg them to their faces to do it very modeftly : 
and in their commendations not to be exceffme for 
that is tedious, and alwayes fauours of futtelty more 
then of fmcere loue. 

And in fpeaking to a Prince the voyce ought to be 
lowe and not lowde nor lhrill, for th'one is a figne of 
humilitie th'other of too much audacitie and prefump- 
tion. Nor in looking on them feeme to ouerlooke 
them, nor yet behold them too fledfaflly, for that is a 
figne of impudence or litle reuerence, and therefore to 
the great Princes Orientall their feruitours fpeaking or 
being fpoken vnto abbafe their eyes in token of low- 
lines, which behauiour we do not obferue to our 
Princes with fo good a difcretion as they do : and fuch 
as retire from the Princes prefence, do not by and by 
turne tayle to them as we do, but go backward or 
fideling for a reafonable fpace, til they be at the wal 
or chamber doore paffing out of fight, and is thought 
a moil decent behauiour to their foueraignes. I haue 
heard that king Henry th'eight her Maieflies father, 
though otherwife the moil gentle and affable Prince 
of the world, could not abide to haue any man flare 
in his face or to fix his eye too fteedily vpon him 
when he talked with them : nor for a common futer 
to exclame or cry out for iuflice, for that is offenfme 
and as it were a fecret impeachement of his wrong do- 
ing, as happened once to a Knight in this Realme of 
great worfhip fpeaking to the king. Nor in fpeaches 
with them to be too long, or too much affected, for 
th'one is tedious th'other is irkfome, nor with lowd 
acclamations to applaude them, for that is too popular 
and rude and betokens either ignoraunce, or feldome 
acceffe to their prefence, or little frequenting their 
Courts : nor to fhew too mery or light a countenance, 



RNAMENT. LIB. II I. 301 

for that is a figne of little reuerence and is a peece of 
a contempt 

And in gaming with a Prince it is decent to let him 
fometimes win of purpofe, to keepe him pleafant, and 
neuer to refufe his gift, for that is vndutifull : nor to 
forgiue him his loffes, for that is arrogant : nor to 
giue him great gifts, for that is either infolence or 
follie : nor to feaft him with exceffiue charge for that 
is both vaine and enuious, and therefore the wife Prince 
king Henry the feuenth her Maiefties grandfather, if 
his chaunce had bene to lye at any of his fubiecls 
houfes, or to paffe moe meales then one, he that would 
take vpon him to defray the charge of his dyet, or of 
his officers and houfhold, he would be marueloufly 
offended with it, faying what priuate fubiect dare vn- 
dertake a Princes charge, or looke into the fecret of 
his expence ? Her Maieftie hath bene knowne often- 
times to miilike the fuperfluous expence of her fub- 
s bellowed vpon her in times of her progreifes. 

Likewife in matter of aduife it is neither decent to 
flatter him for that is feruile, neither to be rough or 
plaine with him, for that is daungerous, but truly to 
Counfell and to admonifh, grauely not greuoufly, fm- 
cerely not fourely : which was the part that fo greatly 
commended Cineas Counfellour to king PirrJms, who 
kept that decencie in all his perfwafions, that he euer 
preuailed in aduice, and carried the king which way 
he would. 

And in a Prince it is comely to giue vnasked, but 
in a fubiect to aske vnbidden : for that firfl is figne of 
a bountifull mynde, this of a loyall and confident. 
But the fubie6l that craues not at his Princes hand, 
either he is of no defert, or proud, or miftruftfull of his 
Princes goodneffe : therefore king Henry th'eight to 
one that entreated him to remember one Sir Anthony 
Roufe with fome reward for that he had fpent much 
and was an ill beggar : the king aunfwered (noting his 
infolencie,) If he be afhamed to begge, we are afhamed 
to giue, and was neuertheleffe one of the moil liberall 
Princes of the world. 



302 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

And yet in fome Courts it is othenvife vfed, for in 
Spaine it is thought very vndecent for a Courtier to 
craue, fuppofmg that it is the part of an importune : 
therefore the king of ordinarie calleth euery fecond, 
third or fourth yere for his Checker roll, and beftow- 
eth his mercedes of his owne meere motion, and by 
difcretion, according to euery mans merite and con- 
dition. 

And in their commendable delights to be apt and 
accommodate, as if the Prince be geuen to hauking, 
hunting, riding of horfes, or playing vpon inftruments, 
or any like exercife, the feruitour to be the fame : and 
in their other appetites wherein the Prince would feeme 
an example of vertue, and would not miflike to be 
egalled by others : in fuch cafes it is decent their 
feruitours and fubiedls iludie to be like to them by 
imitation, as in wearing their haire long or fhort, 
or in this or that fort of apparrell, fuch excepted as be 
only fitte for Princes and none els, which were vndecent 
for a meaner perfon to imitate or counterfet: fc is 
it not comely to counterfet their voice, or looke, or any 
other geflures that be not ordinary and naturall in euery 
common perfon : and therefore to go vpright, or 
fpeake or looke affuredly, it is decent in euery man. 
But if the Prince haue an extraordinarie countenance 
or manner of fpeech, or bearing of his body, that for 
a common feruitour to counterfet is not decent, and 
therefore it was mifliked in the Emperor Nero, and 
thought vncomely for him to counterfet Alexander the 
great, by holding his head a little awrie, and neerer to- 
ward the tone moulder, becaufe it was not his owne 
naturall. 

And in a Prince it is decent to goe flowly, and to 
march with ieyfure, and with a certaine granditie rather 
than grauitie : as our foueraine Lady and miftreffe, the 
very image of maieftie and magnificence, is accuftomed 
to doe generally, vnleffe it be when flie walketh apace 
for her pleafure, or to catch her a heate in the colde 
mornings. 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 303 

Neuertheleffe, it is not fo decent in a meaner 
perfon, as I haue obferued in fome counterfet Ladies 
of the countrey, which vfe it much to their owne de- 
rifion. This Comelines was wanting in Queene Marie, 
otherwife a very good and honourable Princeffe. And 
was fome blemifh to the Emperor Ferdinando, a moft 
noble minded man, yet fo careleffe and forgetfull of 
himfelfe in that behalfe, as I haue feene him runne vp 
a paire of flaires fo fwift and nimble a pace, as almoft 
had not become a very meane man, who had not gone 
in fome haftie bufmeffe. 

And in a noble Prince nothing is more decent and 
welbefeeming his greatneffe, than to fpare foule 
fpeeches, for that breedes hatred, and to let none 
humble fuiters depart out of their prefence (as neere 
as may be) mifcontented. Wherein her Maieflie hath 
of all others a moft Regall gift, and nothing inferior to 
the good Prince Titus Vefpafianus in that point. 

Alfo, not to be pafhonate for fmall detriments or 
offences, nor to be a reuenger of them, but in cafes of 
great iniurie, and fpecially of difhonors : and therein 
to be very fterne and vindicatiue, for that fauours of 
Princely magnanimitie : nor to feeke reuenge vpon 
bafe and obfcure perfons, ouer whom the conquer! is 
not glorious, nor the victorie honourable, which refpecl: 
moued our foueraign Lady (keeping alwaies the de- 
corum of a Princely perfon) at her nrft comming to 
the crowne, when a knight of this Realme, who had 
very infolently behaued himfelfe toward her when fhe 
was Lady Elizabeth, fell vpon his knee to her, and 
befought her pardon : fufpec"ting (as there was good 
caufe) that he mould haue bene fent to the Tower, fhe 
faid vnto him moft mildly : do you not know that we 
are defcended of the Lion, whofe nature is not to 
harme or pray vpon the moufe, or any other fuch fmall 
vermin ? 

And with thefe examples I thinke fufficient to leaue, 
geuing you information of this one point, that all your 
figures Poeticall or Rhethoricall, are but obferuations 



304 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

of ftrange fpeeches, and fuch as without any arte at al 
we fhould vfe, and commonly do, euen by very nature 
without difcipline. But more or leffe aptly and de- 
cently, or fcarcely, or aboundantly, or of this or that 
kind of figure, and one of vs more then another, accor- 
ding to the difpofition of our nature, conftitution of the 
heart, and facilitie of each mans vtterance : fo as we 
may conclude, that nature her felfe fuggefteth the figure 
in this or that forme : but arte aydeth the iudgement 
of his vfe and application, which geues me occafion 
finally and for a full conclufion to this whole treatife, 
to enforme you in the next chapter how art mould be 
vfed in all refpecls, and fpecially in this behalfe of 
language, and when the naturall is more commendable 
then the artificiall, and contrariwife. 

CHAP. XXV. 

That the good Poet or make?' ought to diffemble his arte, 

and in what cafes the artificiall is more commended 

then the naturall, and contrarhuife. 

jjjNd now (moft excellent Queene) hauing 
largely faid of Poets and Poefie, and about 
what matters they be employed : then of 
all the commended fourmes of Po ernes, 
thirdly of metricall proportions, fuch as do 
appertaine to our vulgar arte : and laft of all fet forth 
the poeticall ornament confifling chiefly in the beautie 
and gallantneffe of his language and ftile, and fo haue 
apparelled him to our feeming, in all his gorgious 
habilliments, and pulling him firft from the carte to 
the fchoole, and from thence to the Court, and pre- 
ferred him to your Maiefties feruice, in that place of 
great honour and magnificence to geue enterteinment 
to Princes, Ladies of honour, Gentlewomen and Gen- 
tlemen, and by his many moodes of skill, to feme the 
many humors of men thither haunting and reforting, 
fome by way of folace, fome of ferious aduife, and in 
matters afwell profitable as pleafant and honefl. Wee 
haue in our humble conceit fufficiently perfourmed 




OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 305 

our promife or rather dutie to your Maieflie in the 
defcription of this arte, fo alwaies as we leaue him not 
vnfurniftit of one peece that beft befeemes that place 
of any other, and may feme as a principall good leffon 
for al good makers to beare continually in mind, in 
the vfage of this fcience : which is, that being now 
lately become a Courtier he fhew not himfelf a crafts- 
man, and merit to be difgraded, and with fcorne fent 
back againe to the mop, or other place of his firfl 
facultie and calling, but that fo wifely and difcreetly 
he behaue himfelfe as he may worthily retaine the 
credit of his place, and profeffion of a very Courtier, 
which is in plaine termes, cunningly to be able to dif- 
femble. But (if it pleafe your Maieflie) may it not 
feeme enough for a Courtier to know how to weare a 
fether, and fet his cappe a flaunt, his chaine en echarpe, 
a flraight buskin al ingleffe, a loofe alo Turquefque, the 
cape alia Spa/riola, the breech a la Francoife, and by 
twentie maner of new fafhioned garments to difguife 
his body, and his face with as many countenances, 
whereof it feemes there be many that make a very 
arte, and ftudie who can fhew himfelfe moft fine, I will 
not fay moft foolifh and ridiculous ? or perhaps rather 
that he could diffemble his conceits as well as his 
countenances, fo as he neuer fpeake as he thinkes, or 
thinke as he fpeaks, and that in any matter of import- 
ance his words and his meaning very feldome meete : 
for fo as I remember it was concluded by vs fetting 
foorth the figure Allegoria, which therefore not imperti- 
nently we call the Courtier or figure of faire femblant, 
or is it not perchance more requifite our courtly Poet 
do diffemble not onely his countenances and conceits, 
but alfo his ordinary adlions of behauiour, or the moft 
part of them, whereby the better to winne his purpofes 
and good aduantages, as now and then to haue a 
iourney or fickneffe in his fleeue, thereby to fhake of 
other importunities of greater confequence, as they 
vfe their pilgrimages in Fraunce, the Diet in Spaine, 
the baines in Italy ? and when a man is whole to faine 

u 



3o6 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

himfelfe ficke to fhunne the bufmeffe in Court, to 
entertaine time and eafe at home, to falue offences 
without difcredite, to win purpofes by mediation in 
abfence, which their prefence would eyther impeach or 
ton greatly preferre, to harken after the popular 
opinions and fpeech, to entend to their more priuate 
folaces, to pradtize more deepely both at leafure and 
libertie, and when any publique affaire or other attempt 
and counfaile of theirs hath not receaued good fuc- 
ceffe, to auoid therby the Princes prefent reproofe, to 
coole their chollers by abfence, to winne remorfe by 
lamentable reports, and reconciliation by friends in- 
treatie. Finally by fequeftring themfelues for a time 
fro the Court, to be able the freelier and cleerer to 
difcerne the factions and ftate of the Court and of al 
the world befides, no leffe then doth the looker on or 
beholder of a game better fee into all points of auaun- 
tage, then the player himfelfe ? and in diffembling of 
difeafes which I pray you ? for I haue obferued it in 
the Court of Fraunce, not a burning feuer or a plurifie 
or a palfie, or the hpdropick and fwelling gowte, or 
any other like difeafe, for if they be fuch as may be 
either eafily difcerned or quickly cured, they be ill to 
diffemble and doo halfe handfomly feme the turne. 

But it mufl be either a dry dropfie, or a megrim or 
letarge, or a fiftule in a?io y or fome fuch other fecret 
difeafe, as the common conuerfant can hardly dif- 
couer, and the Phifition either not fpeedily heale, or 
not honeftly bewray ? of which infirmities the fcoffmg 
Pafquil wrote, Vlcus veficce. renum dolor in pene f cirrus . 
Or as I haue feene in diuers places where many make 
themfelues hart whole, when in deede they are full 
ficke, bearing it floutly out to the hazard of their 
health, rather then they would be fufpecled of any 
lothfome infirmity, which might inhibit them from the 
Princes prefence, or enterteinment of the ladies. Or 
as fome other do to beare a port of ftate and plentie 
when they haue neither penny nor poffeffion, that 
they may not feeme to droope, and be reiecled as 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 307 

vnworthy or infufficient for the greater feruices, or to 
be pitied for their pouertie, which they hold for a 
marueilous difgrace, as did the poore Squire of Caf- 
tile, who had rather dine with a fheepes head at home 
and drinke a crufe of water to it, then to haue a good 
dinner giuen him by his friend who was nothing igno- 
rant of his pouertie. Or as others do to make wife 
they be poore when they be riche, to Ihunne thereby 
the publicke charges and vocations, for men are not 
now a dayes (fpecially in ftates of Oligarchic as the 
mofl in our age) called fomuch for their wifedome as 
for their wealth, alfo to auoyde enuie of neighbours 
or bountie in conuerfation, for whofoeuer is reputed 
rich cannot without reproch, but be either a lender or 
a fpender. Or as others do to feeme very bufie when 
they haue nothing to doo, and yet will make them- 
felues fo occupied and ouerladen in the Princes affaires, 
as it is a great matter to haue a couple of wordes with 
them, when notwithftanding they lye fleeping on their 
beds all an after noone, or fit folemnly at cardes in then- 
chambers, or enterteyning of the Dames, or laughing 
and gibing with their familiars foure houres by the 
clocke, whiles the poore futer defirous of his difpatch 
is aunfwered by fome Secretarie or page il fault 
attcndrc. Monfieur is difpatching the kings bufmeffe 
into Languedock, Prouence, Piemont, a common 
phrafe with the Secretaries of France. Or as I haue 
obferued in many of the Princes Courts of Italie, to 
feeme idle when they be earneilly occupied and entend 
to nothing but mifchieuous practizes, and do bufily 
negotiat by coulor of otiation. Or as others of them 
that go ordinarily to Church and neuer pray to winne 
an opinion of holineffe : or pray ftill apace, but neuer 
do good deede, and geue a begger a penny and fpend 
a pound on a harlot, to fpeake faire to a mans face, 
and foule behinde his backe, to fet him at his trencher 
and yet fit on his skirts for fo we vfe to fay by a fayned 
friend, then alfo to be rough and churlifh in fpeach 
and apparance, but inwardly affectionate and fauouring, 



308 OF ORNAMENT. L I B. I 1 1. 

as I haue fene of the greateft podeflates and graueil 
iudges and Prefidentes of Parliament in Fraunce. 

Thefe and many fuch like difguifmgs do we find in 
mans behauiour, and fpecially in the Courtiers of for- 
raine Countreyes, where in my youth I was brought vp. 
and very well obferued their maner of life and conuer- 
fation, for of mine owne Countrey I haue not made fo 
great experience. Which parts, neuertheleffe, we allow 
not now in our Englifh maker, becaufe we haue geuen 
him the name of an honeft man, and not of an hypo- 
crite : and therefore leaning thefe manner of diflimu- 
lations to all bafe-minded men, and of vile nature or 
mifterie, we doe allow our Courtly Poet to be a dif- 
fembler only in the fubtilties cf his arte : that is. when 
he is moil artificial!, fo to difguife and cloake it as it 
may not appeare, nor feeme to proceede from him by 
any ftudie or trade of rules, but to be his naturall : 
nor fo euidently to be defcried, as euery ladde that 
reades him mail fay he is a good fcholler, but will 
rather haue him to know his arte well, and little to 
vfe it. 

And yet peraduenture in all points it may not be fo 
taken, but in fuch onely as may difcouer his groffenes 
or his ignorance by fome fchollerly affectation : which 
thing is veryirkefome to all men of good trayning, and 
fpecially to Courtiers. And yet for all that our maker 
may not be m all cafes reftrayned, but that he may both 
vfe, and alfo manifeft his arte to his great praife. and 
need no more be afhamed thereof, than a fhomaker to 
haue made a cleanly fhoe, or a Carpenter to haue 
buylt a faire houfe. Therefore to difcuffe and make 
this point fomewhat cleerer, to weete, where arte ought 
to appeare, and where not, and when the naturall is 
more commendable than the artificiall in any humane 
action or workmanfhip, we wil examine it further by 
this diftindtion. 

In fome cafes we fay arte is an ayde and coadiutor 
to nature, and a furtherer of her actions to good effect. 
or peraduenture a meane to fupply her wants, by ren- 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 309 

forcing the caufes wherein fhee is impotent and defectiue, 
as doth the arte of phificke, by helping the natural! 
concoction, retention, diflribution, expulfion, and other 
vertues, in a weake and vnhealthie bodie. Or as the 
good gardiner feafons his foyle by fundrie forts of com- 
poft : as mucke or marie, clay or fande, and many 
times by bloud, or lees of oyle or wine, or ftale, or 
perchaunce with more coftly drugs : and waters his 
plants, and weedes his herbes or rloures, and prunes 
his branches, and vnleaues his boughes to let in the 
funne : and twentie other waies cherifheth them, and 
cureth their infirmities, and fo makes that neuer, or 
very feldome any of them mifcarry, but bring foorth their 
flours and fruites in feafon. And in both thefe cafes 
it is no fmal praife for the Phifition and Gardiner to 
be called good and cunning artificers. 

In another refpect arte is not only an aide and coad- 
iutor to nature in all her actions, but an alterer of them, 
and in fome fort a furmounter of her skill, fo as by 
meanes of it her owne effects fhall appeare more 
beautifull or ftraunge and miraculous, as in both cafes 
before remembred. The Phifition by the cordials hee 
will geue his patient, ihall be able not onely to reftore 
the decayed fpirites of man, and render him health, 
but alfo to prolong the terme of his life many yeares 
ouer and aboue the flint of his firft and naturall con- 
ftitution. And the Gardiner by his arte will not onely 
make an herbe, or flowr, or fruite, come forth in his 
feafon without impediment, but alfo will embellifh the 
fame in vertue, fhape, odour and tafte, that nature of 
her felfe woulde neuer haue done : as to make fmgle 
gillifloure, or marigold, or daifie, double : and the white 
rofe, redde, yellow, or carnation, a bitter mellon fweete, 
a fweete apple, foure, a plumme or cherrie without a 
ftone, a peare without core or kernell, a goord or cou- 
cumber like to a home, or any other figure he will : 
any of which things nature could not doe without mans 
help and arte. Thefe actions alfo are moft fmgular, 
when they be moft artificiall. 



310 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

In another refpect, we fay arte is neither an aider 
nor a furmounter, but onely a bare immitatour of na- 
tures works, following and counterfeyting her actions 
and effects, as the Marmefot doth many countenances 
and geftures of man, of which forte are the artes of 
painting and keruing, whereof one reprefents the na- 
turall by light colour and fhadow in the fuperficiall or 
flat, the other in a body maffife expreffmg the full and 
emptie, euen, extant, rabbated, hollow, or whatfoeuer 
other figure and paffion of quantitie. So alfo the Al- 
chimift counterfeits gold, filuer, and all other mettals, 
the Lapidarie pearles and pretious flones by glaffe 
and other fubftances falfmed, and fophifticate by arte. 
Thefe men alfo be praifed for their craft, and their 
credit is nothing empayred, to fay that their conclu- 
fions and effects are very artificiall. Finally in another 
refpect arte is as it were an encountrer and contrary 
to nature, producing effects neither like to hers, nor by 
participation with her operations, nor by imitation of 
her paternes, but makes things and produceth effects 
altogether ftrange and diuerfe, and of fuch forme and 
qualitie (nature alwaies fupplying ftuffe) as fhe neuer 
would nor could haue done of her felfe, as the carpenter 
that builds a houfe, the ioyner that makes a table or a 
bedflead, the tailor a garment, the Smith a locke or a 
key, and a number of like, in which cafe the workman 
gaineth reputation by his arte, and praife when it is 
beft expreffed and moil apparant, and moil ftudioufly. 
Man alfo in all his actions that be not altogether na- 
turall, but are gotten by ftudy and difcipline or exer- 
cife, as to daunce by meafures, to fing by note, to play 
on the lute, and fuch like, it is a praife to be faid an 
artificiall dauncer, fmger, and player on inflruments. 
becaufe they be not exactly knowne or done, but by 
rules and precepts or teaching of fchoolemafters. But 
in fuch actions as be fo naturall and proper to man, 
as he may become excellent therein without any arte 
or imitation at all, (cuftome and exercife excepted, 
which are requifite to euery action not numbred 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 311 

among the vitall or animal) and wherein nature mould 
feeme to do amiffe, and man fuller reproch to be found 
deftitute of them : in thofe to fhew himfelfe rather 
artihciall then naturall, were no leffe to be laughed at. 
then for one that can fee well inough, to vfe a pa ire of 
fpectacles, or not to heare but by a trunke put to his 
eare, nor feele without a paire of ennealed glooues, 
which things in deede helpe an inhrme fence, but 
annoy the pernt, and therefore fhewing a difabilitie 
naturall mooue rather to fcorne then commendation, 
and to pitie fooner then to prayfe. But what elfe is 
language and vtterance, and difcourfe and perfuafion, 
and argument in man, then the vertues of a well con- 
flitute body and minde. little leffe naturall then his 
very fenfuall actions, fauing that the one is perhted by 
nature at once, the other not without exercife and 
iteration ? Peraduenture alfo it wilbe granted that a 
man fees better and difcernes more brimly his collours, 
and heares and feeles more exactly by vfe and often 
hearing and feeling and feing, and though it be better 
to fee with fpectacles then not to fee at all, yet is their 
praife not egall nor in any mans iudgement comparable : 
no more is that which a Poet makes by arte and pre- 
cepts rather then by naturall inftincl : and that which 
he doth by long meditation rather then by a fuddaine 
infpiration. or with great pleamre and facillitie then 
hardly (and as they are woont to fay) in fpite of Nature 
or Minerua, then which nothing can be more irkfome 
or ridiculous. 

And yet I am not ignorant that there be artes and 
methodes both to fpeake and to perfwade and alfo to 
difpute, and by which the naturall is in fome forte re- 
lieued, as th'eye by his fpeclacle, I fay relieued in his 
imperfection, but not made more pernt then the 
naturall, in which refpecl I call thofe artes of Gram- 
mer, Logicke, and Rhetorick not bare imitations, as 
the painter or keruers craft and worke in a forraine 
fubiecl viz. a liuely purtraite in his table of wood, but 
by long and ftudious obferuation rather a repetition or 



312 OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

reminifcens naturall, reduced into perfection, and 
made prompt by vfe and exercife. And fo whatfo- 
euer a mans fpeakes or perfwades he doth it not by 
imitation artificially, but by obferuation naturally 
(though one follow another) becaufe it is both the 
fame and the like that nature doth fuggeft : but if a 
popingay fpeake, fire doth it by imitation of mans 
voyce artificially and not naturally being the like, 
but not the fame that nature doth fuggeft to man. 
But now becaufe our maker or Poet is to play many 
parts and not one alone, as firfl to deuife his plat or 
fubiec~l, then to fafhion his poeme, thirdly to vfe his 
metricall proportions, and lafl of all to vtter with 
pleafure and delight, which relies in his maner of 
language and ftile as hath bene faid, whereof the 
many moodes and ftraunge phrafes are called figures, 
it is not altogether with him as with the crafts man, 
nor altogether otherwife then with the crafts man, for 
in that he vfeth his metricall proportions by appointed 
and harmonicall meafures and diftaunces, he is 
like the Carpenter or Ioyner, for borrowing their 
tymber and lluffe of nature, they appoint and order 
it by art otherwife then nature would doe, and worke 
effecls in apparance contrary to hers. Alfo in that 
which the Poet fpeakes or reports of another mans 
tale or doings, as Homer of Priamus or Vliffes, 
he is as the painter or keruer that worke by imita- 
tion and reprefentation in a forrein fubiecl, in that 
he fpeakes figuratiuely, or argues fubtillie, or perfwades 
copioufly and vehemently, he doth as the cunning gar- 
diner that vfmg nature as a coadiutor, furders her con- 
clufions and many times makes her effecles more abfo- 
lute and ftraunge. But for that in our maker or Poet, 
which reftes onely in deuife and iffues from an excel- 
lent lharpe and quick inuention, holpen by a cleare 
and bright phantafie and imagination, he is not as the 
painter to counterfaite the naturall by the like effects 
and not the fame, nor as the gardiner aiding nature to 
worke both the fame and the like, nor as the Carpen- 



OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 313 

ter to worke effectes vtterly vnlike, but even as nature 
her felfe working by her owne peculiar vertue and pro- 
per inilincl and not by example or meditation or exer- 
cife as all other artificers do, is then moil admired 
when he is moil naturall and lead artificial!. And in 
the feates of his language and vtterance, becaufe they 
hold afwell of nature to be fuggeiled and vttered 
as by arte to be poliihed and reformed. Therefore 
mail our Poet receaue prayfe for both, but more by 
knowing of his arte then by vnfeafonable vfing it, and 
be more commended for his naturall eloquence then 
for his artificiall, and more for his artificiall well dif- 
embled, then for the fame ouermuch affected and 
groifely or vndifcretly bewrayed, as many makers and 
Oratours do. 



The Conclufion. 




Nd with this (my moil gratious foue- 
raigne Lady) I make an end, 
humbly befeeching your pardon, 
in that I haue prefumed to hold 
your eares fo long annoyed with a 
tedious trifle, fo as vnleffe it pro- 
ceede more of your owne Prince- 
ly and naturall manfu etude then 
of my merit e, I feare greatly leail you may thinck of 
me as the Philofopher Plato did of Aniceris an in- 
habitant of the Citie Cirene, who being in troth a very 
ac~tiue and artificiall man in driuing of a Princes Char- 
riot or Coche (as your Maieflie might be) and knowing 
it himfelfe well enough, comming one day into Platos 
fchoole, and hauing heard him largely difpute in mat- 
ters Philofophicall, I pray you (quoth he) geue me 
leaue alfo to fay fomewhat of myne arte, and in deede 
ihewed fo many trickes of his cunning how to lanche 
forth and flay, and chaunge pace, and turne and winde 
his Coche, this way and that way, vphill downe hill, 



3H OF ORNAMENT. LIB. III. 

and alfo in euen or rough ground, that he made the 
whole affemblie wonder at him. Quoth Plato being a 
graue perfonnge, verely in myne opinion this man 
mould be vtterly vnfit for any feruice of greater import- 
ance then to driue a Coche. It is a great pitie that fo 
prettie a fellow, had not occupied his braynes in ftudies 
of more confequence.' Now I pray God it be not 
thought fo of me in defcribing the toyes of this our vul- 
gar art. But when I confider how euery thing hath 
his eftimation by opportunitie, and that it was but the 
fludie of my yonger yeares in which vanitie raigned. 
Alfo that I write to the pleafure of a Lady and a moft 
gratious Queene, and neither to Prieftes nor to Pro- 
phetes or Philofophers. Befides finding by experience, 
that many times idleneffe is leffe harmefull then vnpro- 
fitable occupation, dayly feeing how thefe great afpiring 
mynds and ambitious heads of the world ferioufly 
fearching to deale in matters of ftate, be often times fo 
bufie and earneft that they were better be vnoccupied, 
and peraduenture altogether idle, I prefume fo much 
vpon your Maiefties moft milde and gracious iudge- 
ment howfoeuer you conceiue of myne abilitie to any 
better or greater feruice, that yet in this attempt ye 
wil allow of my loyal 1 and good intent al waves endeu- 
ouring to do your Maieftie the beft and greateft of 
thofe feruices I can. 




A Table of the Chapters in this booke, 

and euery thing in them 

conteyned. 

WHat a Poet and Poefie is, and who may be /aid the 
mojl excellent Poet in onr ti?ne. fol. I [p. 19] 

Whether there may be an a?-te of oar EnglifJt or vulgar 

Poefie. 3 [A 2I J 

How Poets were the fiifi Priefls, the firft Prophets, the firjl 

Legiflators and Politiens in the world. 3 [p. 22] 

How Poets were the firft Philof others, the firft Aflronomers, 

and Hifloriographers, and Orators, and Muficians in the 

-Id. > 5[/-24] 

How euery wilde and fan adge people vfe a kinde of naturall 

Poefie in verficle and rime, as onr vulgar is. 7 [p. 26] 

Whence the riming Poefie camefirfi to the Greekes and- La- 
. and how it had altered, and almofil fpilt their maner 

of Poefie. 7l>27] 

Uozo in the time of Charlemaynes raigne and many year es 

after him, the Latine Poets wrote in rime. 8 [p. 28] 

In what reputation Poets and Poefie were in the olde time 
Princes, and otherwife generally, and how they be 

now become contemptible, and for what caufes. 12 [p. 31] 

How Poefie fkoulde not be employed vpon vaine conceits, nor 

fpecially thofethat bee vitious or infamous. 18 [/. 38] 

Thefubiecl or matter of Poefie what it is. 18 [/. 39] 

Of Poems and their fundrie fortes, and how thereby the 

auncient Poets receiued Surnames. 19 [p. 40] 

In what forme of Poefie the gods of the gentils were prayfed 

and honoured. , > 21 [p. 42] 

In what forme of Poefie vice, and the common abnfes of 

mans life were reprehended. 24 [p. 45] 

he Poefie for reprehenfion of vice, was reformed by two 

maimer of Poems, more ciuill than thefirfi. 25 [p. 47] 

/;/ what forme of Poefie the mill and ontragious behauiours 

of Princes were reprehended . 26 [p. 48] 

In what for?ne of Poefie the great Princes and dominators 

of the world were praifed and honoured. 27 [/. 50] 

Of the places where in auncient time their enterhides and other 

Poemes drammaticke ivere reprefented vnto the people. 28 [^.51] 
Of the fiicpheards or paftorall poefie called Eglogue, and to 

what ptirpofe it wasfirfi inuented and deuifed. 30 [p. 52] 

Of hifiioricall Poefie, by which the f anions acts of princes and 

the vertuous and worthy Hues of our forefathers were re- 
ported. 3i[/-54] 



316 THE TABLE. 

In what forme ofpoefte vertue in the inferior fort was com- 
mended, fol. 34 [p. 5 7] 

The forme wherein honefl and pi'ofitable arts and fciences 
were treated. 35 [p. 59] 

In what forme ofpoefte the amarons affections and entertain- 
ments were v tiered. 36 [p. 59] 

The forme of poeticall reioyfngs. 36 [p. 60] 

The forme of poeticall lamentations, 37 [p. 61] 

Thefolemne reioyfngs at the birth and natiuitie of princes 
children. 40 [p. 64] 

The manner of reioyfngs at weddings and, marriages, f pen- 
ally of great Ladies and Gentlewomen and Dames of 
honour. 40 [p. 64] 

The manner ofpoefte by which they vttered their bitter taunts 
or priuy nippes, and witty feoff es a7id other merry con- 
ceits. 43 [p. 68] 

What manner of poeme they vfed for memoriall of the 
dead. " 45 [/. 70] 

An auncient forme ofpoefe by which men did vfe to reproch 

their enimies. 46 [/. 71] 

Of the fiort poeme called with vs pofe. 47 [/. 72] 

Who in any age hane beene the moft commended writers in 
our Englifi poefie, and the Authors cenfure giuen vpon 
them, 48 [p. 73] 



The Table of the lecond booke. 

OF proportion poeticall. fol. 53[/. 78] 

Of proportion in Staff. 54 [p. 79] 

Of proportion in Meafure. 55 [p- 81 J 

How many foi'tes of meafures we vfe in our vulgar. 58 [p. 84] 

Of the diflinclions of mans voice and paufes allowed to our 

fpeech, and of the firfl pazvfe called Ceazure. 61 [p. 87] 

. Of proportion in concord called Ri?ne. 63 [p. 90] 

Of accent, ftirre and time, euidently perceyued in the diftinc- 

tion of mans voice, and is that which maketh the flowing 

of a Meeire. 64 [p. 9 1 ] 

Of your Cadences by which the meeter is made Symphoni- 

call, and when they be moflfweet and folemne. 65 [p. 93] 

How the good maker will not wrench his word to helpe his 

rime, either by falffying his accent or his Ortographie. 67 [p. 94] 
Of co7icord in long and ' fliort meafures, and by neere or faiTe 

diftanccs, and which of them is mqft commendable. , 68 [p. 96] 
Of proportion by filiation. 69 [p. 97] 

Of proportion in fig ure. 7 5 \p. 1 04] 

How if all manner of fuddaine innouations were not very 

fcandalous, fpecially in the law es of any language, the vfe 



THE TABLE. 317 

of the Grceke and La tine fed might be brought into our 

::■■ poefie and with good grace inough. foL 85 [p. 126] 

A more particular declaration of the Metricall feete of the 

Greekes and La tines, and of your feete of two times. 91 [p. 133] 
Of the feete of three times, and what zfe we may haue of 

them in our vulgar, io^,[p. 137] 

Of all the other of three times be fides the Dae? ill. 106 [p. 140] 

Of your halfe foote in a verfe, and thofe verfes which they 

called perfect and defecliue. 107 [p. 142] 

Of the breaking of your wordes of many fllables, and when 

and hew it is to be zfed. 108 [/. 143] 

The Table of the third booke. 

OF ornament poeticall and that it refieih in figures. 
foL 114O.149] 

How our writing and ' fpeeches publique ought to befigura- 
tiue, and if they be not doo greatly difgrace the caufe 
and purpofe of the fpeaker and writer. 115 [p. 151] 

How ornament poeticall is of tzuo fortes according to the 

double nature and efficacy of figures. ng[p. 155] 

Of language and what fpeech our maker ought to zfe. 119 [p. 156] 
Of file, and that it is of three ki7ides, loflie, meane, and 

low according to the nature ofihefubiecl. I2^[f. 160] 

Oftheloftie, meane, and lew fubiecl. 12 j [p. 164]- 

Of figures and figurative fpeeches. 12S [p. 166] 

Sixe points fet downe by our learned jorcf others for a gen- 
era I I rule or regimeiit of all good utterance, be it by mouth"i 
or by writing. 129 [p. 167] 

Hew trie Greekes firfl and ' afterward es the Latines inuentcd 1 
new names for euery figure, which this Author is alfo 
enfo7'ced to doo in his vulgar arte. 130 [p. 168] 

A diuifion of figures, and hoiv they feme in exor nation of 

language. 132 [/. 170] 

Of Auricular figures appertcyning to fugle words and 
working by :~:cir diners founds and audille tunts, altera- 
tion to the eare only and not to the minde. 134 [p. 173] 
Of Auricular figures perlcyning to clawfes of ''ficech, and 

by them working no little alteration to the eare. 135 [p. 174' 

Of Auricular figures working by diforder. 140 [p. 1S0 

Of Auriadar figures working by ftirphifage. 142 [p. i82_ 

Of Auricular figures working by exchange. 142 [p. l82_ 

Of Au7'icular figures that feme to make the meetre tune- 
able a7id 7nelodious, but not by defect 7ior furplufage, 
diforder nor cxcha7ige. 145 [p. 184] 



The names of your figures Auricular. 

EClipfis, or the figure of default. foL 136 [p. 175] 

Zeugma, or the fingle fupply. 1 3^[p- 175] 

Prozeugma, or the ringleader. I 37[fi- 176] 

Mezozeugma, or the middlemarcher. 137 [p. 176] 

Hypozeugma, or the rerewarder. 137 [p. 176] 

Sillepfis, or the double fupply. 1 37[p- 176] 

Hypozeuxis, or the fubftituie. I 3^[/- I 77] 
Apofiopefis, or the figure offilence, otherwife called the figure 

of interruption. 1 39 [p. 178] 

Prolepfis, or the propounder. l 39[p- 179] 

Hiperbaton, or the trefpaffer. 140 [/. 180] 

Parenthefis, or the infertour. 14.0 [p. 180] 

Hifteron proteron, #r the prepoflerous. 141 [^. 181] 

Enallage, or figure of exchange. 14.2 [p. 182] 

Hipallage, or the changeling. 143 [p. 182] 

Omoioteleton, or the figure of likeloofe . 144 [/. 184] 

Parimion, or figure of like letter. 145 [^. 185] 

Afindeton, or figure of loofe language. 145 f^. 185] 

Polifindeton, <?r Afc* <:^//^ claufe. 146 [ ^. 186] 

Irmus, or the long loofe. . 146 [p. 186] 

Epitheton, <?r the qicalifier. 147 [^. 187] 

Endiades, or the figure oftwinnes. T47 [p. 188] 
Of the figures which wecallSenfable, becaufe they alter and affect 

the minde by alteration of fenfe and firll in fingle words. 148 [p. 188] 
Metaphora, or the figure of tranfport. 148 [/. 189] 
Catacrefis, or the figure of abufe. 1 S°VP- !9°] 
Metonymia, tfr ^<? mifnamer. \^o\p. 191] 
Antonomafia, <?r thefumamer. 151 [/. 192] 
Onomatopeia, or the newnamer. 151 [/. 192] 
Epitheton, or figure of attribution, otherwife called the quali- 
fier. ■ 152 [/• 193] 
Metalepfis, or the far-fet. 1 S 2 VP- r 93l 
Liptote, or the moderator. 153 [p. 195] 
Paradiaftole,tfr//^<r^r?7^^/, otherwife called the foother. 154 [^. 195] 
Meofis, 0?- the dif abler. I 54[/« I 95] 
Tapinofis, or the abbafer. 154^. 195] 
Synecdoche, #r the figure of quick conceit. 154 [/. 196] 
Of fenfable figures appertaining to whole fpeeches, and by 
them affecting and altering the minde by force offence and 
intendment. 155 [p. 196] 
Allegoria, or figure of faire femblant. I 55 [^- I 97] 
Enigma, or the riddle. I S7[p- x 9&] 
Parimia, or the prouerbe. *57 [/• J 99~ 
Ironia, or the drie mock. 157 [p. 199" 
Sarcafmus, or the bitter taunt. 158 [p. 200 
Afteifmus, the merry fcoffe, or ciuill iefl. 158 [p. 200 
Miclerifmus, or the fleei'ing frumpe. I59[/. 201 
Antiphrafis, or the bi'oad floute. 159 [p. 201 
Charientifmus, or thepriuie nippe. 159 \fi. 201 



